Also, TV Academy chair Cris Abrego confirms that its merger with the National Academy of TV Arts & Sciences could happen by mid-2027 The Television Academy made it official on Tuesday morning: The Emmys are tossing the wheel and heading to the stream. Amazon’s Prime Video streamer has struck a six-year deal with the org to take over the Primetime Emmys telecast effective next year. Terms of the deal weren’t revealed, but Prime Video is believed to be paying a license fee of around $15 million for global rights to the Emmys beginning in September 2027, according to sources.
Prior to that, the “wheel deal” mix of ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox paid around $8 million to $10 million annually — but that was only for domestic rights. Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, also wouldn’t get into specifics on his investment but said he believed it was “a fair deal. We’re comfortable with it.
We think it makes sense, particularly when you look at it over a long-term situation. We think we’re going to be ultimately very happy with it, as will, I think, the Academy.” As for striking a six-year deal, Hopkins added, “It felt for them and us like the right number of years to see if we can together make a meaningful impact. We’re confident we will, and then my expectation is that this is a long-term partnership beyond six years.
We’ll see what happens.” The Prime Video deal not only signals the end of the “wheel deal” after 31 years, but it also moves the Emmys off broadcast TV for the first time since the ceremony began in 1949. Under the new pact, the Emmys will be offered for free on Prime Video, as it will be placed in front of the paywall both here in the U.S. and in the streamer’s more than 240 countries and territories. The Primetime Emmys were previously syndicated internationally (except Canada and Australia) by U.K.-based distributor Rainmaker Content.
The deal also comes with the possibility of other Emmy programs also airing on Prime Video. That includes the artisans-focused Nights 1 and 2 (formerly known as the “Creative Arts Emmys”), which were previously edited into a condensed special a week after the ceremonies on FXX. Our TV Academy Honors events.
The interviews that we do. There’s a lot of opportunity to create content that builds to the Emmys.” And then there’s the impending TV Academy merger with the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences — which Abrego said is on track to happen as soon as mid-2027, prior to the next Emmys: “We’re moving along. It’s been a ton of work, and this has been a full year of us getting there.
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