The Emmy Awards are leaving broadcast television for streaming. The Television Academy and Amazon’s Prime Video have announced a landmark six-year deal that makes Prime Video the exclusive global home of the Emmy Awards Prime Video telecast, starting with the 2027 ceremony and ending the show’s decades-long rotation among America’s big broadcast networks.
FAKTA
- What: Six-year deal naming Prime Video the exclusive global home of the Emmy Awards.
- When announced: Tuesday, October 6, 2026, by the Television Academy and Amazon’s Prime Video.
- Effective: The 2027 Emmy Awards ceremony; the show keeps its live September slot.
- Cost to viewers: Free worldwide — no Prime Video subscription required, in more than 240 countries and territories.
- What it replaces: The “Wheel Deal” rotation among ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, which ended with the 2026 telecast.
- Financial terms: Not officially disclosed.
End of the “Wheel Deal”
For decades, the Emmy Awards telecast alternated among the four major US broadcast networks — ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC — under a traditional arrangement known as the “Wheel Deal.” That rotation concluded with this year’s show, and the Television Academy has now chosen a single, long-term partner instead of rotating year to year.
The move underlines how sharply viewing habits have shifted. Traditional television networks face growing competition from streaming services, which have increasingly taken on major live events and awards shows as audiences move toward digital platforms.
Free for Viewers Worldwide
One of the most viewer-friendly parts of the deal: the ceremony will not sit behind a paywall. Amazon said the Emmy Awards will stream live and free to audiences around the world, with Prime Video making the show available in more than 240 countries and territories.
“Television has never been more global, and the Emmys should be a celebration that the world can share,” Television Academy chair Cris Abrego said in a statement, adding that viewers would be able to watch live “with no subscription required.”
Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios head Mike Hopkins said the company was “honored” to become the global home of the awards show, describing the deal as a way to boost Emmy viewership — particularly among younger audiences — and to give the presentation more room to innovate.
Streaming Takes Awards Season
The Emmys are not the first major awards show to leave traditional broadcast television. Last year, organizers of the Academy Awards announced that the Oscar telecast would move from the ABC broadcast network to stream live on YouTube around the world, starting in 2029.
For Prime Video, the agreement adds another high-profile live entertainment property to a service that has expanded through original films and television shows, sports rights and other streaming partnerships. For the Television Academy, it secures a permanent, well-funded global platform for television’s biggest night.
The Emmys, first held in 1949, honor achievements in television acting, production and writing, and have long served as a major promotional and cultural event for the US television industry. This year’s ceremony — the last of the broadcast-rotation era — saw The Pitt take Outstanding Drama Series and Widow’s Bay win Outstanding Comedy Series.
By the Numbers
| Detail | The Deal |
|---|---|
| Duration | Six years, from the 2027 ceremony |
| Replaces | “Wheel Deal” rotation: ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC |
| Viewer cost | Free — no subscription required |
| Reach | 240+ countries and territories |
| Timing | Still live in September |
Conclusion
The Emmys’ move to Prime Video is a historic shift for television’s top honors: a single streaming home, a global free-to-watch audience, and the end of the broadcast rotation era. If the Academy and Amazon deliver on the promise of a more innovative show, the 2027 ceremony could look very different from anything the broadcast era produced. For more on the deals reshaping Hollywood, read our coverage of the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger and the 2026 Romeo Bassoli journalism award.
