DIS Walt Disney Co

Walt Disney Co.'s ABC network has agreed to broadcast the Academy Awards through 2028, in another example of a broadcaster locking up key content for a long time.

Financial details of the extended contract weren't disclosed. The previous deal was set to expire in 2020.

ABC has aired the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' movie-awards ceremony in the U.S. since 1976. "The Academy's partnership with ABC has been one of the most enduring in Hollywood," said Academy Chief Executive Dawn Hudson.

The new deal ends in 2028.

The move represents another long-term content contract signed by a television network, even as the future of television remains undetermined as its audience ages and viewers continue to flock toward mobile and streaming video.

Comcast Corp.'s NBCUniversal has the U.S. media rights for the Olympics through 2032. In June, CBS extended its rights deal with the music industry's Grammy Awards through at least 2026.

About 34.4 million people tuned in for the ABC broadcast of the Oscars this year, a 7.6% drop from the 37.3 million in the previous year, according to Nielsen. The 88th annual show was the least-watched Academy Awards since 2008. Viewership trails the 45 million viewers the show averaged in the 1990s.

"We are elated the Oscars will continue to call ABC home," said Channing Dungey, president for ABC Entertainment. "The ceremony is an important part of network programming."

The 89th Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2017.

Write to Austen Hufford at austen.hufford@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 31, 2016 09:15 ET (13:15 GMT)

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