Can you watch the Oscars on Prime Video? What time, and how to watch online free

Tonight is Hollywood’s biggest night: the 96th Academy Awards, aka the Oscars! Will Oppenheimer take the top prize? Or Poor Things? Perhaps Messi, the dog from Anatomy of a Fall will storm the stage and steal the Best Actor trophy. Anything can happen, and you’ll want to be there to watch it. But can you watch the Oscars on Prime Video?

Years ago, it would have been unthinkable to watch a big awards show like the Academy Awards on a streaming service. Yet more and more big events are either simulcast on streamers like Prime Video, or stream there first.

So can you watch the Oscars on Prime Video? What about the Oscars red carpet? Is that streaming on Amazon? And how about the extra-length E! Red Carpet show?

We’ve got all the info you need to know about how to stream the Oscars, live and online for free.

What time are the Oscars on? What time do the Oscars start?

First and most importantly, let’s talk schedule. The Oscars are tonight, Sunday, March 10, 2024.

E!’s red carpet show starts way before arrivals even begin, at 4 pm ET. Then at 6:30 pm ET, ABC’s official red carpet begins on, appropriately, ABC.

The ceremony itself is starting an hour earlier than usual at 7 pm ET, which means it will end at a reasonable time ha ha ha just kidding. Whenever the Oscars are over, though, there will be a new episode of Abbott Elementary immediately following.

Can you watch the 96th Academy Awards on Prime Video?

Prime Video has a slew of free to stream channels, as well as subscription services called Prime Video Channels that cover a number of streaming services. So it stands to reason that either through one of the free channels or through the pay services, you might be able to stream the Oscars on Prime Video.

Unfortunately, you can’t. Neither ABC nor E! streams to any of the above. Paramount+, a plugin for Prime Video Channels, does have live TV depending on your area, but that’s CBS; not ABC, which is broadcasting the Oscars.

There’s also a whole channel for ET aka Entertainment Tonight on the free channels. However, this is prerecorded, so you won’t be able to watch them stream live from the red carpet tonight.

Don’t worry, though, there actually is a way to stream the Oscars free on Amazon. Just, weirdly, not on Prime Video.

How to stream the Oscars free on Amazon:

So here’s the thing… You can stream ABC on Amazon, just not on Prime Video. The way to get ABC streaming free, and therefore the Oscars streaming free, is through the ABC Fire TV app. The one catch here is that it is not available for Live TV in all areas, and only if your TV provider allows it. Here’s the exact language provided by Amazon: “The ABC live stream is available with a participating TV provider in select markets only.”

Point being, don’t download the app at 6:59 pm ET and expect to get the Oscars rolling. You might want to check a little earlier, and call your TV provider if you’re having issues.

How to stream the Oscars red carpet free on Amazon:

The same applies to the red carpet pre-show as the above. If your TV provider allows it, you should be able to stream the official ABC red carpet at 6:30 pm ET on the Amazon Fire TV app for ABC.

Additionally, there’s an E! Fire TV app that will allow you to stream the E! red carpet starting at 4 pm ET. However, it is important to note that this app definitely requires you to sign in with your TV provider, so keep that password handy.

Will the Oscars stream on Prime Video the next day? Where to watch the Oscars later:

Unfortunately, if you miss the ceremony you won’t be able to stream the Oscars on March 11, 2024 on Prime Video. However, they will stream later on Hulu, so maybe you want to head over to huluadviser.com (not a real website).