Some thirty-four thousand viewers were unable to stream the 2025 Oscars on Hulu on Sunday the 2nd of March, as the streaming platform experienced glitches as the ceremony began. Many viewers missed almost two hours of the 97th Academy Awards as they were unable to sign in and access the live stream. Then, just when it seemed everything had been fixed, some viewers’ streams were interrupted a few minutes before the end, leaving them unable to watch Meg Ryan and Billie Crystal award Sean Baker his fourth statuette of the night for Anora. Messages posted to Down Detector, the program that tracks app outages, read “Down in Florida”, “Down in central Phoenix Arizona”, “Down in NC”. 

But, what caused the mass lockout resulting in thousands of viewers unable to stream the Oscars? While Hulu was able to solve the issues, will it happen again? What kind of infrastructure can support such mass live streaming? We explore.

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What happened to Hulu on the night of the Oscars?

Hulu representatives admitted that they had experienced “technical and live stream issues” as the 97th Academy Awards kicked off in Los Angeles on Sunday the 2nd of March. Throughout the ceremony, Hulu viewers also reported experiencing pixelation, freezes and crashes, leaving thousands unable to stream the Oscars. They flocked to social media to express their frustration. In response, in a post on X at 9:21 p.m. ET, Hulu published “Thanks so much for hanging in there! Our team took the necessary steps to resolve this, so you should be all set after rebooting your device. We appreciate your patience!” Unfortunately, disaster struck once again minutes before the ceremony was due to end.

Live events remain a challenging frontier for streaming services, with technical issues still needing to be ironed out. This year marked the first time viewers could stream the Oscars on Hulu, and Disney holds the broadcast rights through 2028. But it was not the first time we have seen VoD platforms offering live content as part of subscription packages. Netflix with its NFL Christmas Day game and Peacock with its exclusive NFL broadcasts managed to avoid major disruptions and attract over 30 million viewers. There must be a better way to do it. 

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Will Hulu’s glitches happen again?

In order to prevent streaming issues such as buffering events, pixelation and crashes, streaming platforms should find a content delivery partner that meets their requirements. This means working with infrastructure that is able to scale automatically to accommodate sudden surges in viewership, as well as offer adaptive streaming tech, real-time monitoring systems, network visibility, root-cause analysis and troubleshooting. Disney’s Hulu has another year before the 98th Academy Awards to iron out its glitches, test its live streaming infrastructure, conduct large-scale stress tests and implement fail-safes to prevent another disruption. If Hulu cannot guarantee a seamless viewing experience, the Academy may reconsider its streaming partnership, opting for a platform with a proven track record in delivering high-profile live events without interruptions.

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System73’s answer to reliable live streaming: Edge Intelligence

As a fundamental pillar of our Data Logistics Platform, Edge Intelligence is System73’s solution to seamless, reliable and infinitely scalable live streaming. Edge Intelligence uses AI-driven analytics to inform centrally orchestrated peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, which allows content providers and distributors to deliver high-quality streams, send the highest bitrate over the best route to all edge devices, and ensure the best QoE for up to 95% of viewers, even in hard-to-reach regions.

Unlike traditional strategies that are affected by congestion when viewership surges, Edge Intelligence’s P2P networks are infinitely scalable, and become stronger and more robust as more viewers join the stream. Up to 80% of traffic is offloaded onto these networks, which reduces dependency on physical CDNs and edge servers, bypassing congestion and minimizing buffering events. 

In our experience, Edge Intelligence has proved exceptionally successful in delivering high-demand, live events to global audiences. For example, in June 2024, System73 helped deliver the UEFA Champions League Final to viewers around the world. Again, in July 2024, System73 helped deliver the CONMEBOL Copa América final between Argentina and Colombia. In this case, Edge Intelligence was able to maintain 95% of viewers on the highest rendition for their device, with 1080p being the highest resolution of the bitrate ladder, ensuring maximum QoE for almost every viewer (see our Case Studies for in-depth insights).

These success stories reinforce the value and reassurance Edge Intelligence can provide in managing high-traffic, large-scale live events, such as sports games and award shows, like the Oscars. For more insights into trends in live streaming and content consumption or to find out more about our content delivery solutions, visit system73.com.

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