Films made by Netflix will still be allowed to compete for the Oscars, the Academy has announced, in a victory for the company and all streaming services.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences - the body which awards the Oscars - voted early on Wednesday not to change its rules for winning an Oscar.

The decision follows a battle over how long a film must play on the big screens in theatres before being launched on the internet, DVD or other mediums that put it on the small screen.

The Academy's board of governors said that the existing rules, which say a film has to run in a theatre for only seven days in Los Angeles to qualify, had won.

"We support the theatrical experience as integral to the art of motion pictures, and this weighed heavily in our discussions," said John Bailey, president of the Academy.