Prime Video in Talks to Take the Emmys Off Broadcast TV

The Television Academy confirms talks with Amazon Prime Video that would move the Primetime Emmys off broadcast TV for the first time.

The Television Academy is in talks with Amazon Prime Video about the streamer becoming the new home of the Primetime Emmy Awards telecast, potentially taking the ceremony off broadcast television for the first time in its history. A Television Academy spokesperson confirmed discussions are underway, saying, "We're having conversations and when we have something to announce we will do so." Variety first reported Amazon's interest, and Deadline confirmed the streamer is in talks with the organization. The talks follow the expiration of the Academy's eight-year agreement with ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, which concluded Monday with NBC's telecast of the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards. No deal is finalized, and financial terms of a possible agreement have not been disclosed.

The Emmys have rotated among the four major broadcast networks since the mid-1990s under what outlets call the "wheel deal," with each network airing the ceremony once every four years. Deadline reports the wheel approach began in 1995, when Fox aired a ceremony hosted by Jason Alexander and Cybill Shepherd. Comic Book Resources frames the potential move as the end of a 31-year tradition, and The Hollywood Reporter notes it would be the first time the awards did not air on a broadcast outlet. If a deal is reached, the Emmys would become the second major EGOT awards show to leave network TV, following the Oscars' announced move from ABC to YouTube starting in 2029 — though, per The Hollywood Reporter, the Emmys would likely hit streaming first given the timing.

The Los Angeles Times reports the broadcast networks have grown unhappy with airing a telecast that has become a showcase for their streaming rivals. At Monday's ceremony, all but one trophy went to a program on a streaming platform, and the only broadcast winner to take the stage was cancelled CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert, per the Los Angeles Times. "It's a lot of effort and not a lot of return," one broadcast network executive told the paper. The Los Angeles Times also reports ratings have slid — the ceremony has drawn around 8 million viewers in recent years, no longer the major attraction it once was among younger viewers, who prefer watching speech and red-carpet clips on social media.

Prime Video is not new to awards or live programming. Multiple outlets note it has carried the Academy of Country Music Awards since 2021 or 2022 — per the Los Angeles Times, it acquired those rights in 2022, while The Hollywood Reporter says it has held them since 2021. The streamer also has deep live-event experience through its sports deals with the NFL's "Thursday Night Football," the NBA and WNBA, and NASCAR. The Hollywood Reporter adds that Prime Video recently announced a mega-bundle with Starz, AMC+, BritBox, MGM+ and PBS Masterpiece. Netflix, by contrast, explored bidding for the Emmys in recent years but could not make a deal economically work, the Los Angeles Times reports; Netflix did pick up the Screen Actors Guild Awards, now called The Actor Awards.

A move behind a paywall would be a major symbolic statement that traditional broadcast viewing has lost cultural relevance, according to the Los Angeles Times. The Academy would also lose the promotional support a broadcast rights holder provides — affiliated-station specials and morning-show segments — though the paper notes those advantages have mattered less as traditional viewing has declined. Under the expiring deal, networks reportedly paid just over $8 million a year for the rights, a figure both the Los Angeles Times and SSBCrack News report.

No agreement has been signed, and the Emmys' next broadcasting home remains officially undecided. Academy chair Cris Abrego told outlets that "conversations are continuing" and that the Academy will share news when there is something to announce. Deadline reports the Academy, under Abrego, has held discussions with multiple broadcast networks and streamers over recent months, and that a deal beginning next year would mark a major step change for the organization. The wider awards calendar is shifting around it: the Grammys move from CBS to ABC in 2027 with Hulu and Disney+ simulcasts, the Oscars head to YouTube in 2029, and CBS's Tony Awards deal ended this year.