Emmys Leave Broadcast TV for Amazon's Prime Video in Six-Year Global Deal

The Emmy Awards are leaving broadcast television. Amazon’s Prime Video will stream the ceremony worldwide under a six-year agreement with the Television Academy, ending a run on ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC that dates to 1955.

The Academy announced the deal Tuesday. It begins with the 2027 ceremony, which will air live in September and stream free, with no Prime Video subscription required. Amazon says it will reach viewers in over 240 countries and territories. The agreement also lets Prime Video carry other Academy programming, such as the Hall of Fame and Honors ceremonies.

The pact replaces the “Wheel Deal,” the rotation among the four networks that governed the broadcast for roughly three decades. NBC and Peacock aired this year’s show, the last under the old arrangement.

Neither side disclosed financial terms, and early estimates differ. Deadline reported the deal is worth $20 million to $25 million a year, which would exceed $120 million over its life. Variety, citing sources, put the annual fee near $15 million.

Academy chairman Cris Abrego said the organization demanded free access before talks began and wanted one long-term partner to build the show over time. Prime Video’s role as a hub for many studios’ programming helped win him over. The streamer carries the last two top Emmy winners, Widow’s Bay and The Studio, through a partnership with Apple TV. “We want reach, we want access,” Abrego said. Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, said the company wants to turn the ceremony into a global event.

Both sides also stressed a pitch to younger audiences, and the Academy says it does not plan to repeat the same format. Abrego added that a planned merger with the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences remains on track for as early as mid-2027, before the first Prime Video telecast.

The shift follows a wider drift of awards shows toward streaming. The Oscars are scheduled to move to YouTube in 2029, under a deal the film Academy struck last year.