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Emmys Leave Broadcast TV as Prime Video Lands Six-Year Deal
By @sharedot · · 6 pages
- Entertainment
- Television
- Streaming
- Awards
Prime Video will exclusively stream the Primetime Emmys from 2027 to 2032, ending broadcast TV's nearly 80-year run.
A Streaming First for Television's Biggest Night
The Emmy Awards are becoming a streaming show. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Television Academy and Prime Video have signed a six-year deal making the Amazon-owned streamer the exclusive home of the Primetime Emmys from 2027 through 2032. Next year's ceremony will mark the first time in the awards' 79-year history that they will not air on a broadcast outlet. SSBCrack News reports the pact ends the decades-old arrangement under which ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC took turns airing television's biggest night, a rotation in place since 1995 and concluded by this year's telecast on NBC and Peacock. The show will stream live each September, and Prime Video will make the telecast free to watch worldwide with no Prime subscription required.
Why the Break From the Broadcast Wheel Matters
The move is a first among major awards: per The Hollywood Reporter, the Emmys will be the first of the EGOT awards — Emmys, Grammys, Oscars and Tonys — to be exclusive to a streaming platform. It also outpaces the Oscars, which announced a move to YouTube last year but will not switch until the 2029 ceremony, with ABC retaining rights to the 2027 and 2028 shows. Television Academy chair Cris Abrego told The Hollywood Reporter the deal was an opportunity to 'rethink the model and not simply just renew the deal,' arguing that rotating among the big four broadcast networks each year meant starting over with a new partner, producer and brand partnerships annually. SSBCrack News reports the shift follows weeks of speculation after the 2026 ceremony.
The Money and the 'Non-Negotiable' Access Clause
Financial terms were not disclosed, and the outlets differ on the numbers: SSBCrack News reports Deadline put Amazon's payment at $20–25 million a year — one source at $24 million annually, topping $120 million over the term — while Variety cited roughly $15 million a year for global rights. Either figure is a step up from the roughly $8–10 million per year networks paid under the old wheel deal, which covered only U.S. rights. The deal folds domestic and international rights — previously sold through U.K.-based distributor Rainmaker Content — into a single package across Prime Video's footprint in more than 240 countries and territories.
Beyond One Night and What Comes Next
The agreement extends past the annual telecast. SSBCrack News reports Prime Video may also carry other Television Academy programming, such as the Hall of Fame and Television Academy Honors ceremonies, and will use its platform to support the Academy's mission year-round, effectively turning the Emmys into a year-round celebration. The televised future of the Creative Arts Emmys, which have aired on FXX for over a decade, is still being discussed, The Hollywood Reporter notes. Amazon's Mike Hopkins told outlets he wants to make the ceremony a 'global event,' grow viewership and reach a younger audience, celebrating 'global stars, not just U.S. TV stars.' The 2027 ceremony stays in September, though the Academy said it has discussed moving the date in later years, per SSBCrack News. Abrego also confirmed to Variety that the Television Academy's planned merger with the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences could be completed by mid-2027.