Prime Video to Be Global Home of the Emmys in Six-Year Deal Starting 2027

Prime Video will become the exclusive global home of the Emmy Awards under a new six-year agreement with the Television Academy, a rights shift that will begin with the 2027 ceremony and make the show available live and free in more than 240 countries and territories, the organizations announced Tuesday.

The deal gives the Emmys a single worldwide home for the first time, according to the Television Academy and Amazon. It also ends the long-running U.S. broadcast-network rotation that had cycled the Primetime Emmy telecast among ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, a model that concluded with the most recent ceremony.

“Television has never been more global, and the Emmys should be a celebration that the world can share,” said Cris Abrego, chair of the Television Academy, in the academy’s announcement.

The new arrangement replaces the so-called wheel deal that kept the awards on broadcast television in the United States while distribution varied from year to year. Under the Prime Video pact, the ceremony will stream live with no subscription required, according to the announcement. Financial terms were not disclosed.

For business context, Variety previously reported that the outgoing wheel agreement, negotiated in 2018, ran for eight years and was worth a little more than $8 million annually. The rights change also comes after softer recent audience results: TheWrap, citing preliminary Nielsen data, reported that the 78th Emmys on Sept. 14 drew about 6.7 million viewers across NBC and Peacock, down roughly 10% to 12% from the prior year.

The move also fits a broader industry shift as major awards shows increasingly look to streaming-first distribution and global reach. In another example, the Oscars have announced an exclusive global streaming deal with YouTube beginning in 2029. For the Emmys, the structural change is especially notable because it replaces a domestic network rotation with one platform carrying the ceremony worldwide.

“For nearly eight decades the Emmys have recognized the best storytelling and talent in television, and we’re honored that Prime Video will be trusted as the global home for this celebration over the next six years,” said Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, in the Television Academy announcement. Prime Video already has experience with live-event programming, including NFL “Thursday Night Football” and the Academy of Country Music Awards.