Oscars 2021: Start time, how to watch without cable, nominations

The Oscars take place this Sunday, April 25 on ABC. The 93rd Academy Awards have been a long time coming. The Academy delayed the awards by two months, accommodating films released in 2020 through to February 2021. In addition, movies released straight to digital platforms like HBO Max are also eligible for Oscars. One positive is, thanks to the delay, you can stream almost all of the films right now.

Read more: How to stream the 2021 Oscars best picture nominees | Oscars predictions: Who will win this year’s big awards

The Oscars are spread over two locations: Los Angeles Union Station and the Dolby Theater. Only nominees, their guest and presenters have been given the green light to attend. Nominees who don’t attend won’t be allowed to Zoom in. Will there be a host? The Oscars went hostless last year and this year will be the same.

Here’s everything you need to know to watch the Oscars 2021 awards show.

Oscars date and start time

Based on last year’s programming, these are the expected start times:

US: The Oscars start at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 25.

UK: The Oscars start at 1 a.m. GMT on Monday, April 26.

Australia: The Oscars start at 10 a.m. AEST on Monday, April 26.

How to watch the Oscars without cable

The Oscars will air on ABC in the US. To stream online, there are a couple of options:

• ABC is streaming the live broadcast of the Oscars on the ABC website, but only to specific cities and only after you sign in with a participating pay TV provider — typically a cable company, satellite provider or livestreaming service.
• Another option is Locast, which streams local broadcasters, including ABC, in certain large US cities, for free. And of course, you could always use an antenna to try to pick up the ABC station in your area (DVR optional).
• If you subscribe to a live TV streaming service that carries ABC in your city, you can use it to watch the Oscars too. AT&T TV, Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV all carry ABC in most US cities. All of them offer a seven-day free trial, so you can sign up now and cancel after the ceremony if you want. Note that Sling TV, Fubo TV, AT&T and Philo don’t carry ABC at all.

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• Australia: While it hasn’t been confirmed yet, we’re expecting the Oscars to air on Seven like last year.
• UK: You can watch the Oscars using a Sky Cinema Pass with Now TV (a seven-day free trial is offered).

Who are the Oscar nominees?

David Fincher’s Mank leads this year’s Oscar nominations with 10. It faces stiff competition in the best picture category from awards darling Nomadland, directed by Chloé Zhao. Both she and Emerald Fennell, who’s behind the haunting revenge thriller Promising Young Woman, are nominated for best director, making this the first time two women have been nominated in the category in the same year. It’s exciting stuff. Check out the full list of nominations here.

Is there an Oscars red carpet?

It’ll be a much smaller red carpet event this year, but we might see a few interesting face-mask-and-outfit-coordinated combos if the Grammys are anything to go by (although you won’t see nominees wearing masks during the show). Based on last year’s programming, you’ll be able to watch the red carpet on the ABC site or app from 5:30 p.m. ET, the Academy’s official Twitter from 6:30 p.m. ET, or the E network, available on many live TV streaming services, from 5 p.m. ET.

Who’s hosting the Oscars?

No one! The hostless trend began in 2019 when Kevin Hart stepped down from hosting duties amid criticism of his past insensitive tweets. The 2020 show went without a host and the 2021 show will do the same.

Who’s presenting the Oscars?

Angela Bassett, Halle Berry, Bong Joon-ho, Don Cheadle, Bryan Cranston, Laura Dern, Harrison Ford, Regina King, Marlee Matlin, Rita Moreno, Joaquin Phoenix, Brad Pitt, Reese Witherspoon, Renée Zellweger and Zendaya will be handing out awards.