Hulu crashes during Oscars 2025 livestream
What's the story
Hulu's first-ever livestream of the 97th Academy Awards on Sunday night (Monday IST) was plagued by major technical issues.
As the ceremony began at 7:00pm ET/4:00pm PT, several Hulu subscribers reported issues with the broadcast.
By 4:24pm PT, more than 34,000 users had reported issues accessing Hulu's service, according to Downdetector data.
User complaints
Subscribers expressed frustration over Hulu's livestream glitches
Subscribers took to social media platform X to express their displeasure, reporting problems from login issues to blank screens during the Oscars livestream.
A similar message appeared on the screens of several users: "Unable to log in? We're on it! Our team is currently investigating and we hope to have things back up and running soon."
The technical glitches prompted a wave of complaints from irate viewers.
Twitter Post
'Fix your service'
@hulu FIX YOUR SERVICE. Im missing the oscars…. how are you going to advertise something and it be down????
— Bethany💜 (@BangItBethy) March 3, 2025
Twitter Post
Check out how angry some viewers were
Well, I guess I'm not watching the Oscars this year. Thanks @hulu for your unusuable garbage app.
— The3, 2025 Mighty Corwynator 🇵🇸 (@corwyn93) March
Official response
Hulu and Disney+ responded to streaming issues
Hulu Support acknowledged the technical issues at 4:39pm PT on social media platform X, saying they were actively investigating the problem.
The Disney+ support account also chimed in, advising users to restart their app or check for updates if they encountered difficulties accessing the stream.
Despite these efforts, many viewers reported missing key moments of the Oscars due to the glitches.
Missed performances
Key Oscar moments missed due to Hulu's technical glitches
The technical issues led audiences to overlook some of the biggest moments of the Oscars, including live performances by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande and Conan O'Brien's opening monologue.
Some even reported seeing an error message saying the telecast wasn't "available to watch in your location."
Despite the setbacks, Disney had previously announced that this year's Oscars would be available on-demand on Hulu from Monday.
Streaming expansion
Hulu's integration with Disney+ and its impact
Over the last 18 months, Hulu's integration with Disney+ has deepened, highlighted by the addition of a Hulu button on Disney+'s home screen over a year ago.
However, this year's Oscars were not streamed on Disney+, leaving some viewers confused.
The move to add Hulu as a streaming option to stream the Oscars aimed to pull in younger viewers and offer more advertising opportunities for Disney.
In India, the event streamed on JioHotstar from 5:30am on Monday.