Oscars 2026: What to Watch for and How to Watch in Portugal

Tomorrow night, Hollywood's biggest ceremony returns for its 98th edition, and for the fifth consecutive year, Portuguese viewers can follow it live on RTP1. The broadcast begins at 11 p.m. Lisbon time on Sunday, March 15, and will run into the early hours of Monday morning. Antena 3 will provide live radio commentary starting at 10 p.m.

Conan O'Brien returns as host after a well-received debut last year, making him the first repeat host since Jimmy Kimmel's four-year run. Early indications suggest O'Brien will lean into the irreverent, self-deprecating style that made him a late-night institution — a welcome counterpoint to the often stiff formality of awards telecasts.

The Films to Know

The frontrunner heading into Sunday is Ryan Coogler's Sinners, which has broken nomination records and leads the field across multiple categories. The Best Actor race is one of the most competitive in years, with several performances generating genuine debate rather than the usual coronation of an early favourite.

The newly introduced Best Casting category makes its debut this year, recognising a craft that has long been considered essential but overlooked by the Academy. A lifetime achievement tribute to director Rob Reiner — the man behind When Harry Met Sally, The Princess Bride, and A Few Good Men — promises to be one of the evening's emotional highlights.

Portugal's Relationship with the Oscars

Portugal has never won an Academy Award, though it has come close. The country's film industry, while small by Hollywood standards, has produced internationally acclaimed work. Pedro Costa, Miguel Gomes, and Leonor Teles have all received recognition at major European festivals, and Portugal's animation sector has grown steadily in recent years.

The broader cultural moment matters, too. Portugal's creative industries have benefited from the country's growing international profile, driven partly by tourism and partly by the influx of foreign professionals in film, television, and digital media. Lisbon and Porto are increasingly used as filming locations, and Portuguese post-production houses have worked on international projects.

How to Watch

For viewers in Portugal, the options are straightforward:

• RTP1 — Live broadcast from 11 p.m. on Sunday, March 15
• RTP2 — Simulcast coverage
• Antena 3 — Radio commentary from 10 p.m.
• RTP Play — Streaming for those without a television

The ceremony will be broadcast from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, where it is currently 8 a.m. on Saturday — meaning the red carpet and pre-show festivities are still a full day away.

A Late Night Worth Staying Up For?

For expats accustomed to watching the Oscars in North American time zones, the Lisbon broadcast time is actually more forgiving — the ceremony wraps by roughly 2 or 3 a.m., rather than the midnight finish familiar to East Coast viewers. Whether the show justifies the lost sleep depends, as always, on your appetite for spectacle, your investment in the nominated films, and your tolerance for Conan O'Brien's particular brand of chaos.

Given everything else happening in the world right now, a few hours of sequins and speeches might be exactly the distraction Portugal needs.