As broadcast television continues its path to relative obsolescence à la the telgraph, the Television Academy has signed an exclusive six-year deal with Prime Video to stream the Emmys on the platform from 2027 to 2032. Rumors that the streamer had begun talks with the Academy circulated a day after September’s Emmy ceremony, presumably to avoid letting this year’s host, notorious comic firebrand Mariska Hargitay, roast the very idea during the awards broadcast on NBC, which is now its last on any broadcast network. (Unless the networks really turn things around in the next half-decade, eh? Yes?) Per The Hollywood Reporter, the deal allows Prime Video to “carry other Television Academy programming,” such as the Hall Of Fame and Television Academy Honors ceremony, while the Creative Arts Emmys, which FXX has broadcasted since 2013, are “still being discussed.” Foreboding news for FXX!
This move comes after the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences (AMPAS) signed a deal to stream the Oscars on YouTube beginning in 2029, when awards enthusiasts can type “who dat?” at Jane Fonda or whatever in the comments section under the prestige ceremony’s live-stream. Speaking with THR, TV Academy chair Cris Abrego said, “[This agreement is] truly an opportunity to rethink the model and not simply just renew the deal. For me, continuity was a big part of that.” As to the Emmys’ function as it switched broadcast partners every year–a rotation that saw the ceremony broadcast on ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox–Abrego suggested the ride was a not-so-merry-go-round. “Rotating [between the big four broadcast networks] every year meant in many ways that we were starting over again with a new partner. That included everything from the creative, bringing on a new producer, to building partnerships with brands. That was always one of the challenges with the wheel agreement.”
And before you rightfully begin to worry how Amazon might milk even more cash out of you from this Emmy business, there are currently no plans to put the ceremony behind a subscription model. As THR reports, the Emmys will remain “free for anyone, Prime subscriber or not, to watch.” “That was crucial to us,” Abrego continued. “Access has been something I have prioritized from the very start. Exclusivity in the honors should never mean exclusivity in access. Removing the paywall means we are inviting every single fan on the planet to get a front row seat to the Emmys.”
Keep scrolling for more great stories.