Story summary
The Emmy Awards, a prestigious ceremony celebrating excellence in television, will move from broadcast networks to Prime Video starting in 2027 under a six-year deal between Amazon and the Television Academy. This marks an end to a seven-decade tradition where one of the four major U.S. broadcast networks aired the event annually since 1955. The shift signals the growing influence of streaming platforms, especially as they increasingly dominate categories like limited series and acting.
Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video, highlighted Amazon's honor in being entrusted with hosting the Emmys globally for six years across over 200 countries without requiring a subscription to watch it live. Cris Abrego, chairman of the Television Academy, emphasized continuity and global reach as key benefits of this partnership, suggesting that having one long-term home can enhance the event’s legacy while expanding its audience base internationally.
Written for “Emmy Awards Streaming Deal” on 2026-10-06,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Emmy Awards moving to Prime Video in 6-year streaming deal
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Awards → move → deal
Deal ends 7-decade run of broadcast networks airing the ceremony
The Emmy Awards are moving to Prime Video starting in 2027 in a six-year deal struck between Amazon and the Television Academy that ends a seven-decade run of broadcast networks airing the ceremony.
The agreement announced Tuesday means a shift to the streaming services that have come to dominate the prestige categories at the Emmys.
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that → end → Emmys
The awards show has aired on one of the four broadcast networks every year since 1955.
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show → air → 1955
NBC was first to air it nationally, and hosted it last month.
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NBC → air → it
For the past three decades, it has been in a yearly rotation between ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, in what was known as the "Wheel Deal.
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what → know → Deal
Having a single, long-term home starting with next September's awards may be the biggest change.
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Having → have → awards
"Continuity is a big part of what we're looking for, because the rotating part of it basically meant in many ways that we were starting over every year," Cris Abrego, chairman of the Television Academy, told The Associated Press.
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Abrego → look → Press
"With one partner over six years, we can really learn together and build from year to year together."
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we → learn → year
No subscription required
The Emmys will continue to air free of charge as it always has, a demand the Academy made from the start to its suitors.
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Academy → require → suitors
No Prime Video subscription will be required to watch.
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subscription → require → ?
The move echoes the Oscars' deal announced in December sending them to YouTube and ending their own, equally long relationship with broadcast networks.
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move → echo → networks
Unlike that agreement, announced in 2025 and starting in 2029, this one is effective immediately.
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one → announce → 2029
"We're on the clock, we gotta get rolling," Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, told the AP.
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Hopkins → got → AP
Drop in viewership
Nearly all awards shows have seen steep drops in viewership in a more segmented culture, and the Emmys have consistently lagged behind the Oscars, Grammys and Golden Globes, despite the growing acclaim for the shows they honour.
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they → see → shows
At its peak, the Emmys drew more than 20 million viewers.
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Emmys → draw → viewers
The figure now hovers around seven million.
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figure → hover → million
The Academy and Amazon said Prime Video might be in a position to change that as a place where so much of the Emmys programming can be viewed, whether it's a Prime production or a streaming partnership.
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it → say → programming
The biggest winners at the last two Emmys, Widow's Bay and The Studio, can both be watched on Prime Video through its partnership with Apple TV.
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winners → watch → TV
"I think we're going to be able to increase the viewership over time on this show, age it down, actually bring in a younger audience, which I think is a catalyst to growing," Hopkins said.
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Hopkins → think → growing
"We will have the opportunity throughout the year to be promoting Emmy nominees to our customers as a way of saying, 'Hey, watch these shows, but also watch the Emmys.'
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We → have → Emmys
"
And while Abrego acknowledged the significance of the move to streaming and its implications, he said the content is far more important than how it's delivered.
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it → acknowledge → streaming
"The Academy has never defined television by how it reaches your screen or even which screen it reaches," he said.
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he → define → screen
"The goal is to consistently want to recognize excellence wherever it comes from."
Live events on Amazon are hardly a novelty anymore.
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events → want → Amazon
It's been nearly a decade since Prime first aired an NFL game and many other major sports and events have followed.
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sports → air → game
"We look at our service as something that's a hybrid between live and on-demand, and we've made live a real priority," Hopkins said.
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Hopkins → look → demand
The Emmy Awards are moving to Prime Video starting in 2027 in a six-year deal struck between Amazon and the Television Academy.
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Awards → move → Amazon
The ceremony will stay in September in 2027, but that doesn't mean that month is set for the run of the agreement.
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month → stay → agreement
"We had conversations with Amazon, if we wanted to change that date moving forward with time, we could explore it and we would be open to it," Abrego said.
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Abrego → have → it
The Aporia
