Prime Video Buys Global Rights to the Emmys for $15 Million a Year
Prime Video bought the global rights to the Emmy Awards for about $15 million a year. The six-year deal with the Television Academy replaces the previous ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC rotation and will cover more than 200 countries.
Media market analysts rate the deal as the biggest shift of premium TV content to a streaming platform in recent years.
Amazon's streaming service Prime Video has signed a six-year contract with the U.S. Television Academy for exclusive global broadcast of the Emmy Awards. The annual cost of the agreement will be around $15 million — nearly double the terms of the previous rotation among American broadcasters. This was reported by the trade publication ADWEEK.
The contract ended the long-running "Wheel Deal" rotation, under which the ceremony was alternately aired by ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC. The previous scheme generated $8–10 million per year just for U.S. market rights; the value of the global deal with Amazon is estimated at more than double that.
The ceremony will keep its traditional September timing and will remain available without a subscription, the parties to the agreement assured.
What the Move to Streaming Changes
Prime Video will receive rights covering more than 200 countries. The service intends to turn the show into a "year-round cultural celebration" and develop complementary content beyond a single broadcast night.
Television Academy Chair Cris Abrego emphasized the global nature of the deal. "Television has never been more global, and the Emmys should become a celebration shared by the entire world," he said. According to Abrego, viewers in more than 200 countries will get free access to the live broadcast for the first time.
Why ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC Were Left Out
The "Wheel Deal" rotation, in place for about 45 years, allowed the largest American broadcasters to take turns holding the rights to the ceremony. Rising costs of live broadcasts and growing competition from streamers made the scheme unprofitable: none of the networks could offer a level of investment comparable to Amazon's.
Outside the United States, the event's advertising monetization is limited, and traditional broadcasters lack the infrastructure for global distribution that Prime Video offers.
How Ratings Have Been Trending
The 78th Emmy Awards on NBC on September 14, 2025, averaged 6.7 million viewers — 10% fewer than a year earlier. Mariska Hargitay hosted. The Apple TV+ platform won 14 awards at the ceremony, becoming one of the biggest beneficiaries of the past season.
The Emmys' move to streaming comes amid a similar step by the Oscars: starting in 2029, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will broadcast the awards ceremony on YouTube under a multi-year agreement.
What the Deal Changes in the Media Market
- Prime Video establishes itself as a premium content platform and gains direct access to premium-segment advertisers.
- Broadcasters ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC lose one of the biggest primetime events, which generated tens of millions of dollars in advertising revenue annually.
- The Television Academy expects a multiple increase in audience thanks to countries where the broadcast was previously unavailable.
- Competitors — Netflix, Disney+ and HBO Max — lose the precedent of an exclusive event window and will have to seek their own formats to attract subscribers and advertising budgets.
The exact date of the first Emmy broadcast on Prime Video has not yet been announced; the contract is expected to take effect by the 2026 ceremony.
Original: televisionacademy.com
More from Сергей Мельник
179 articles
Related articles
- Elvis Presley Song Rights Holders Demand $41.1 Million from Anthropic
- Pinduoduo and Anthropic paid Kazakhstan 8 billion tenge in taxes
- Disney Will Show Super Bowl 2027 Through the Eyes of Star Wars Characters
- Mom's Touch to Open 50 Restaurants in Kazakhstan with Shin-Line
- Prada answered AI slop with a pencil: 6 million views and mice in the style of Disney