Amazon has taken the Emmys off the broadcast carousel. The company and the Television Academy have closed a six-year rights agreement that makes Prime Video the global home of the annual TV awards, with the show available free on the platform each September.
The pact is worth more than $120 million in total, or between $20 million and $25 million a year; one source puts the annual figure at $24 million. That replaces the wheel in which ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC rotated U.S. telecast rights, a system in place since 1995 and valued at $8 million to $10 million a year for the domestic broadcast window.
What Prime Video is buying
- Six years of global Emmys streaming rights.
- Free access on Prime Video, not behind the paywall.
- A live-event showcase that sits alongside Amazon’s ad business, bundles and partner titles.
Why the deal matters
The fee jump signals how streaming platforms now value awards shows: as live, ad-supported inventory that pulls viewers into a subscription ecosystem. Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, said the goal is a “global event” and a younger audience. “We can put the Emmys on a path to global growth and relevance,” he said.
Television Academy chair Cris Abrego pushed for a “singular home” instead of another rotation. Keeping the telecast free was non-negotiable for the Academy. Amazon can afford to put the show in front of the paywall because, as Hopkins put it, the company has a “very large ad business” and can cross-promote nominated and winning series that live across Prime Video channels and partner apps.
The format is now the experiment
Both sides say the point is not to reproduce the same show. Abrego said the Academy did not strike the deal to “just put on the exact same show,” pointing to categories, length and format as areas for change. Conversations on those details are expected to start almost immediately rather than months before the telecast.
For media planners, the practical shift is to treat this as streaming video inventory with addressable audiences, not as broadcast-only reach. The surrounding flywheel is just as important: Prime Video can promote winners, nominations and partner shows year-round, turning one night into an ongoing merchandising surface.
Source: Deadline
