Emmy Awards Will Leave Broadcast TV for Amazon’s Prime Video
Six-year deal ends the awards show’s decadeslong rotation among ABC, CBS, Fox and NBCAmazon’s Prime Video will be the new home for the Emmy Awards starting in 2027, as another Hollywood gala abandons broadcast television. Under the terms of a new deal with the Television Academy, Prime Video will carry the awards show for six years and will have global rights, the company and the nonprofit said Tuesday. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Previously, the awards rotated yearly between the big four broadcast networks—ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC—with the annual rights valued at approximately $9.5 million, according to the Television Academy’s most recent annual report. That fee doesn’t cover production costs for the show, which are shouldered by the licensee of the rights. Amazon said it plans to keep the Emmys in front of its paywall, meaning that non-Amazon Prime subscribers will be able to watch for free.
The move is the latest example of a traditional television staple migrating to a streaming service. Last year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences signed an agreement to move the Oscars to You Tube starting in 2029. Netflix has carried the Screen Actors Guild Awards—now called the Actor Awards—since 2024. Live content, including sports, is increasingly available on streaming platforms. Prime Video carries the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football” and NBA basketball. Netflix also has some NFL games and a handful of Major League Baseball games. Ratings for the Emmy Awards have fallen sharply from their historic highs, although they have rebounded from a record low two years ago. Last month’s show on NBC averaged 6.7 million viewers, down 10% from the previous year’s show on CBS, according to Nielsen. Most of the awards now go to premium cable outlets such as HBO and streamers including Netflix and Apple TV.
“It’s obviously an iconic property that has had some decline over the last few years,” said Prime Video head Mike Hopkins in an interview, adding that he believes this is an opportunity to “reimagine the broadcast and bring in a younger audience.”The broadcast networks explored maintaining the current agreement but at a lower rights fee, people familiar with the matter said.
Source: Wall Street Journal US Business · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing