The Emmy telecast may be about to leave broadcast television for the first time in its history. Variety reports that the Television Academy is in advanced talks to move the annual ceremony to Amazon Prime Video, ending the 31-year “wheel” that rotated the show among ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC.
NBC and Peacock carried this year’s 78th Emmys, the final broadcast under the most recent wheel deal struck in 2018. The networks were believed to be paying just above $8 million a year for the rights under that agreement; a Prime Video deal value is not yet known.
Mariska Hargitay hosted the 78th Emmys from the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles, with Jesse Collins Entertainment producing for the fourth consecutive time.
Why a single owner is tempting
The Academy’s negotiations focused on the right license fee and the appeal of giving one platform the Emmys for several years. Under the wheel, even a strong telecast would tee up a competitor to take over the next year. A multi-year owner would have more incentive to produce and promote the show aggressively.
But exclusivity has backfired before. In 1987, Fox outbid the Big Three for exclusive rights and ratings collapsed. Fox kept the show until 1992, and when ABC’s later exclusive run was scrapped in 1995, the Academy rebuilt the shared-wheel model so every major network had a stake.
Streaming’s awards migration
A Prime Video Emmys would follow a broader shift of major awards shows from linear to streaming:
- ACM Awards moved to Prime Video after leaving CBS in 2021.
- SAG-AFTRA Actors Awards shifted from TNT/TBS to Netflix.
- YouTube will stream the Oscars globally starting in 2029.
The Academy also explored other options, including a new wheel with at least one broadcaster believed to be Fox dropping out, and a simulcast across multiple TV outlets. The simulcast idea was set aside because coordinating ad sales across networks and streamers became too difficult.
What media buyers should watch
The Emmys remain a live event, but at smaller scale. Last year’s CBS telecast drew 7.59 million viewers, its best since 2021; the show has not topped 10 million viewers since 2018. This year’s NBC ratings are not yet available.
TV Academy chair Cris Abrego said “conversations are continuing” on a new deal, but no terms are final. The Academy also voted to move five categories to earlier Emmy ceremonies to free time in the main telecast.
One unresolved question is whether the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences ceremonies—Daytime, News & Documentary, Children’s & Family and Sports—could be bundled into a Prime Video agreement as the two academies move closer to reuniting. The Daytime Emmys have been without a TV home since 2024.
Source: Variety
