The 88th annual Academy Awards kick off at 8:30 p.m. ET tonight (Sunday, Feb. 28) on ABC, airing live from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood until about 11:30 p.m. ET. The network airs on Channel 1200 (HD) for Time Warner Cable subscribers and Ch. 9 for non-digital customers; Channel 509 (HD) and 9 (SD) for Verizon FiOS customers; Channel 9 (SD) and 396 (HD) for DirecTV subscribers; Channel 9 (SD) and 5170 (HD) for Dish Network customers; and Channel 609 (HD) and 9 (SD) for New Visions viewers.
Oscars red carpet coverage begins at 7 p.m. on ABC, with live streaming available through ABC.com and the WATCH ABC app. Actor Orlando Jones will also be hosting a "Backstage" behind-the-scenes at the "second-screen experience" will stream online throughout the ceremony.
Additional red carpet pre-shows include "E! Live From the Red Carpet, " hosted by Ryan Seacrest and Giuliana Rancic, from 5:30-8:30 p.m. ET on E! The network will also have a "Countdown to the Red Carpet" at 1:30 p.m. ET and a live red carpet streaming show starting at 5:25 p.m. on
CNN will also tackle "Hollywood's Biggest Night" with hosts Michaela Pereira and Don Lemon from 6-7:30 p.m. and Entertainment Tonight will begin its pre-show coverage at 2 p.m. ET on PopTV (find your local channel).
Chris Rock will host the 2016 Oscars, returning to the stage after bringing the laughs at the 77th Academy Awards in 2005. He recently teased a "blackout" would happen amid #OscarsSoWhite controversy over all nominations going to white actors for the second year in a row.
Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Revenant" and Alejandro Inarritu are favored to win in the best actor, best picture and best director categories, while George Miller's "Mad Mad: Fury Road" could provide some surprises with 10 nominations. See the complete of nominees here.
