Emmy®-Winning ‘The Oscars®: All Access’ Announces Facebook Watch as Exclusive Social Platform for the Official Live Stream

Emmy®-Winning ‘The Oscars®: All Access’ Announces Facebook Watch as Exclusive Social Platform for the Official Live Stream

EMMY®-WINNING ‘THE OSCARS®: ALL ACCESS’ ANNOUNCES FACEBOOK WATCH AS EXCLUSIVE SOCIAL PLATFORM FOR THE OFFICIAL LIVE STREAM

HOSTS LOCKED FOR ‘THE OSCARS: ALL ACCESS’

Actress/Singer Sofia Carson, Sports and Pop Culture Host and Correspondent Ben Lyons,
Pop Culture Commentator Adnan Virk, and ‘Good Morning America’ and ESPN Correspondent Chris Connelly All Return; Actor Wesam Keesh Joins for the First Time

Emmy-winning “The Oscars: All Access,” which features red carpet highlights, exclusive footage from backstage and live “look-ins” to the Oscars telecast, will stream live on The Academy’s show page on Facebook Watch, The ABC Television Network Facebook page, Oscar.com and ABCNews.com, beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT on Sunday, March 4. Together with the Academy and ABC, “The Oscars: All Access” Live on Facebook Watch brings some of the night’s biggest moments directly to the community on Facebook for an immersive experience throughout “The Oscars.”
Popular favorites from last year’s “The Oscars: All Access” live stream are set to return to host, including rising star Sofia Carson (“Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists,” Disney Channel’s global hit “Descendants”), and entertainment and sports commentators Chris Connelly, Ben Lyons and Adnan Virk. They are joined by newcomer actor Wesam Keesh (ABC’s upcoming legal drama “For The People”).

Sponsored by AT&T, “The Oscars: All Access” features footage from over 20 cameras strategically placed along the red carpet, backstage and in the audience, providing fans with insider views into the most memorable moments of the night. This year, the Facebook community watching the “The Oscars: All Access” live stream may also receive a digital autograph from one of their favorite stars on the red carpet. The show won the 2017 Emmy for Outstanding Creative Achievement In Interactive Media Within An Unscripted Program.

On Facebook, the community can immerse themselves deeper into conversation around “The Oscars,” on the Academy’s official Facebook Group – Oscars Movie Club – to connect and discuss their favorite films, nominees and moments throughout the night. In addition, the Academy show page on Facebook Watch will share special “The Oscars Insider” content throughout the week leading up to the star-studded night at “The Oscars.”

On Instagram, @theacademy will be sharing every exclusive, star-studded moment of the big day on Stories and Live. 90th Oscars presenter and “Avengers: Infinity War” star Tom Holland will be taking over the official @instagram Instagram Stories. Additionally, throughout the day, viewers can see exclusive video and Boomerang content from their favorite celebrities, glam squads and industry insiders by following #Oscars on Instagram. Stars are expected to take to Instagram to share every moment of the big day – from the highlights to the moments in between. For a first-hand look at the Oscars experience, be sure to follow some of the key nominees including Margot Robbie, Timothée Chalamet, Octavia Spencer and more, in addition to all of the best picture nominees.

Carson and Lyons will host from the red carpet and backstage, with Keesh contributing from the fan bleachers and Virk providing commentary during the backstage show. “Good Morning America” and ESPN correspondent Chris Connelly is returning as the official greeter of “The Oscars” red carpet, which includes welcoming nominees, presenters and performers to the show.

The multihyphenate Carson is best known for her starring role as Evie in Disney Channel’s global hit franchise “Descendants.” She will reprise her role as the Evil Queen’s daughter for a third time in the recently announced “Descendants 3.” A Disney fan favorite, she has just been cast in the upcoming drama pilot “Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists” and has a recurring role in the upcoming season of “Famous in Love,” both on Freeform. She is also a successful recording artist signed to Hollywood Records/Republic Records. To date, her music videos have amassed over 345 million views, and she has a legion of fans with over 11 million followers on social media.

This will mark the fourth time Lyons has hosted “The Oscars: All Access” after many years covering the Academy Awards for E! and Yahoo Movies. Lyons is a pop culture expert for ESPN radio and a frequent guest on “SportsCenter.” He is the co-host of “The Warmup,” a weekly live show for NBA-TV and TwitterSports. Over the years, Lyons has worked as a film critic and a correspondent for EXTRA, the nationally syndicated “At the Movies” and iMDB.

Keesh stars in ABC’s upcoming new legal drama series, “For The People,” from Shondaland. He is best known for his role on MTV’s long-running series “Awkward” and was recently seen in NBC’s “Chicago Justice.”

Connelly is an award-winning sports and entertainment journalist who is a frequent contributor to ABC News’ “Good Morning America” and “20/20.” From 2000 to 2007, he was a co-host and interviewer for the official Academy Awards pre-show and has served as the show’s official greeter for the last five years. He first covered the red carpet at the Oscars in 1989, for MTV, where he was the host of the network’s movie show, “The Big Picture.” From 1987 to 1996, he was an editor and writer for the movie magazine Premiere.

Virk, who is also hosting Oscar.com’s “The Oscars Insider” digital series this year, has been a sports and pop culture commentator for ESPN since 2010. In addition to his popular “Cinephile” movie podcast, he is one of three anchors on “Baseball Tonight” and has guest hosted “SportsCenter” and “Outside the Lines.” Virk has been recognized numerously for his reporting, being named Sportscaster of the Year by Anokhi Vibe Magazine, Favorite Media Personality by the Masala, Mehndi, Masti Organization; and, most recently in 2015, was added to Bob Elliott’s famous list “101 Most Influential Canadians in Baseball.”

The 90th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 4, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be broadcast live on The ABC Television Network at 8:00 p.m. EST/5:00 p.m. PST. “The Oscars,” produced by Michael De Luca and Jennifer Todd and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide. Additionally, “The Oscars: All Access” live stream from the red carpet and backstage will begin at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT on The Academy’s show page on Facebook Watch, The ABC Television Network Facebook page, Oscar.com and ABCNews.com.

*COPYRIGHT ©2018 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. All photography is copyrighted material and is for editorial use only. Images are not to be archived, altered, duplicated, resold, retransmitted or used for any other purposes without written permission of ABC. Images are distributed to the press in order to publicize current programming. Any other usage must be licensed. Photos posted for Web use must be at the low resolution of 72dpi, no larger than 2×3 in size.

FOLLOW THE ACADEMY
www.oscars.org

www.facebook.com/TheAcademy

www.youtube.com/Oscars

www.twitter.com/TheAcademy