Prime Video becomes the Emmys’ exclusive home from 2027, ending the network rotation

Prime Video and the Television Academy have announced a six-year agreement that makes Prime Video the exclusive global home of the Emmy Awards, beginning with the 2027 ceremony. The deal replaces the rotation of ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC that has carried the ceremony since 1995.

Amazon’s announcement sets out access and distribution terms but not the money. Financial terms were not disclosed, and the fee figures reported in trade press remain unconfirmed. Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, and Cris Abrego, chair of the Television Academy, are the executives named in the coverage reviewed.

What the six-year agreement covers

The agreement runs six years and begins with the 2027 ceremony. Under it, Prime Video becomes the exclusive global home of the Emmys, replacing the rotation among ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC that Variety describes as the Wheel Deal. The 2026 ceremony, carried by NBC and Peacock, was the last telecast under that arrangement.

The ceremony will stream live on Prime Video and be free to watch, with no subscription required. Amazon’s announcement says the broadcast will reach more than 240 countries and territories. Adweek quotes Abrego describing audiences in more than 200 countries. The sources reviewed do not reconcile the two figures, and each is reported here as stated.

Amazon’s announcement keeps the telecast in September. Amazon also says it wants to make the awards a year-round celebration with new experiences for fans. The sources reviewed give no specifics on those plans.

What Amazon has not disclosed
Amazon’s announcement did not disclose the financial terms of the six-year agreement. The reported fee of about $15 million a year comes from trade press and remains unconfirmed.

The reported fee and what remains unconfirmed

Adweek reports that Amazon’s global rights deal is reportedly around $15 million a year, compared with around $8 million to $10 million a year for the previous U.S. rights. Adweek does not name a source for the figure. Adweek’s article is the only reviewed source that gives a figure for the new rights.

The Variety article reviewed for this piece is dated September 16, 2026, and predates the official announcement. It describes the Prime Video talks as reported and not yet final. It says the networks were believed to pay just over $8 million a year under the current wheel deal, similar to the previous license fee. It reports no fee for a Prime Video deal, and says there was no word yet on whether deal points were firmly in place. The negotiations, it is believed, came down to the license fee. The $15 million figure does not appear in that article.

Until Amazon or the Television Academy discloses terms, no total can be confirmed from the sources reviewed.

Advertising and the audience question

The sources do not say whether Amazon will sell advertising inside the telecast, and none describes an advertising revenue model. Amazon’s statements focus on free access, global reach and the September broadcast window. Adweek’s coverage also records no advertising plan.

The 2026 audience figure is preliminary. TheWrap reports that the 2026 ceremony drew about 6.7 million viewers across NBC and Peacock, according to preliminary Nielsen data. Against the 2025 ceremony’s adjusted total of 7.59 million, that is down 11.7 percent. Against the initial 2025 figure of 7.42 million, the drop is nearly 10 percent. Final 2026 figures had not been published when that report was written. TheWrap also notes that the 2026 total counts NBC and Peacock only, while the 2025 ceremony aired on CBS, Paramount+ and other platforms.

Variety reports that the 2025 telecast on CBS was the show’s best since 2021, and that the Emmys last exceeded 10 million viewers in 2018.

How the broadcast rotation developed

Variety’s history of the arrangement starts with the telecast’s debut in 1949. From 1966 through 1986, ABC, CBS and NBC shared the ceremony. From 1987 to 1992, Fox held exclusive rights after outbidding the three larger networks. Variety reports that ratings declined sharply under that arrangement.

ABC then held the rights for four years, covering the ceremonies from 1992 to 1995, before that deal was scrapped after competitors refused to support it. The rotation among the four networks resumed in 1995. Variety also reports a 2002 bid in which HBO offered $50 million over five years, or $10 million a year. The broadcast networks threatened a boycott, and the deal did not proceed. A 2018 agreement then set an eight-year wheel, and the 2026 ceremony was the final telecast under it.

The current deal therefore ends a rotation that has run for 31 years, according to Variety. Variety describes the move as the first time the ceremony would leave broadcast television since 1949. Amazon’s announcement says the deal replaces that rotation.

Amazon’s announcement sets out access and distribution terms but not the money.

How the Oscars’ YouTube move compares

In December 2025, according to Al Jazeera, the Academy announced that YouTube will stream the Oscars starting with the 2029 ceremony, under a deal covering five editions through 2033. ABC keeps the broadcast rights for the 2026, 2027 and 2028 ceremonies, including the 100th anniversary show.

Both moves make the ceremony free to watch, and neither announcement disclosed financial terms. Al Jazeera reports that the Oscars will be free on YouTube with closed captions and multiple-language audio tracks, and that the Academy cited wider reach as a reason. Reuters, citing a source, reported that ABC tried to keep the Oscars but declined to overpay, as the network has struggled to turn a profit recently.

The structures differ. The Emmy agreement gives Prime Video exclusive global rights from its first year and runs six years. The Oscars move takes effect after ABC’s final commitment ends in 2028. The Emmys move takes effect in 2027. Al Jazeera also reports that the 2025 Oscars drew 19.7 million US viewers, a five-year high, against a 1998 peak of 57 million.

Open points in the sources

Neither Amazon’s announcement nor Adweek’s article gives a calendar date, and both refer only to today. The announcement is therefore not dated in this article.

The reach figure also differs: more than 240 countries and territories in Amazon’s text, and more than 200 countries in Abrego’s quote. The fee remains unconfirmed, with no Prime Video figure in the Variety article. The year-round plans are described without specifics, and the sources reviewed say nothing about advertising.

The final 2026 audience figure had not been released when TheWrap published, and the report says it will be updated once final numbers are out. The Variety piece on the talks also predates the announcement, so its account cannot be checked against the final terms.

Photo: Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons