The first Academy Awards ceremony that was broadcast on television was in 1953 on NBC. Hollywood had originally been reluctant to team up with television, which was still seen as an enemy, but when NBC offered cash to broadcast what was essentially a three hour commercial for film, the Academy decided to go for it.
It was a success and soon the Academy found its award show to be a hot commodity. NBC would air the broadcast until 1960, when ABC won the bidding war to broadcast it. In 1970, NBC took over again, airing the broadcast until 1976. At that point, ABC won control of the telecast and has aired it ever since.
