The Oscars have long been defined by the red carpet, but in 2026, the story extends far beyond it.

While the 98th Academy Awards drew 17.86 million viewers across ABC and Hulu, down 9% year-on-year, the cultural impact of the ceremony moved in the opposite direction. Earned Media Value (EMV) surrounding the top five films on social media surged by 230%, while reach increased by 131%.

The implication is clear. Audience attention is not disappearing, it is redistributing from live broadcast to social media. And within that shift, a new layer of influence has become impossible to ignore – creators.

While the ceremony itself remains one of the most powerful cultural stages globally, the way its moments travel, scale, and generate value is being fundamentally reshaped by the creator economy.

For platforms like Netflix, Apple TV and HBO, whose films saw the most success at this year’s awards, engagement and EMV spiked greatly.