Story summary
Amazon has secured a six-year deal with the Television Academy, beginning in 2027, to stream the Emmy Awards exclusively on its Prime Video platform. This marks an end to a seven-decade tradition of broadcast networks airing the ceremony, which was last hosted by NBC in September 2023. The change reflects the growing dominance of streaming services in prestige television categories.
Under this new agreement, viewers will be able to watch the Emmy Awards live and for free across more than 200 countries, without needing a Prime Video subscription. This shift aims to provide "unprecedented global reach" while maintaining continuity and allowing both parties to build upon their shared goals over multiple years. The deal also represents Amazon's first major entertainment broadcast following its success with sports streaming, including NFL Thursday Night Football and NBA games.
Cris Abrego, chairman of the Television Academy, emphasized the importance of having a consistent partner rather than starting anew each year under the previous "Wheel Deal" rotation between ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC. This move underscores the evolving landscape of television viewing habits as streaming services continue to reshape how major events are consumed globally.
Written for “Emmy Awards Streaming Deal” on 2026-10-07,
grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.
Emmy Awards moving to Prime Video as TV ceremony shifts to streaming for first time
By
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ceremony → move → time
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 honoring the best in TV.
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networks → move → TV
The agreement announced Tuesday means a shift to the streaming services that have come to utterly dominate the prestige categories at the Emmys.
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that → announce → Emmys
The 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 was the last to host 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
“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
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 → continue → 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, just-as-long relationship with broadcast networks.
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move → echo → networks
But 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 → ’re → AP
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 even as the acclaim for the shows they honor has grown.
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they → see → shows
At its peak, the show drew more than 20 million viewers.
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show → draw → viewers
The figure now hovers around 7 million.
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figure → hover → million
Both 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
Abrego said this approach, and Prime Video’s role as a television hub, was a major consideration in taking the show there.
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approach → say → show
“They really support all television,” he said.
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he → support → television
“We want reach, we want access, and we felt Amazon was in line with that.”
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Amazon → want → that
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.”
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it → want → wherever
It’s been nearly a decade since it first aired an NFL game and many other major sports and other 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
Its time slots on Sunday or Monday nights in September nearly always lead to a clash with the rating monolith of the NFL.
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slots → lead → NFL
This year’s show was trounced by the first Monday Night Football game of the year between the Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos on ESPN.
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show → trounce → ESPN
The ceremony will stay in September in 2027, but that doesn’t mean it is set for the run of the agreement.
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it → 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, acknowledging that it would have repercussions with deadlines and voting.
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it → have → deadlines
Your voice matters.
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voice → matter → ?
Discussions are moderated for civility.
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Discussions → moderate → civility
The Aporia
