Emmys leave US television after 78 years in huge streaming shake-up

The Emmy Awards are leaving traditional US television after 78 years in a major deal that will make television's biggest awards ceremony free to watch around the world.

From 2027, the Primetime Emmys will stream live on Prime Video across more than 240 countries and territories. Crucially, viewers will not need an Amazon Prime membership to watch.

End of a television tradition

The move ends the Emmys' long-standing relationship with America's major broadcast networks ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, which have rotated coverage of the ceremony for decades.

Prime Video has secured worldwide rights from 2027 until 2032, although the Television Academy will continue producing the ceremony. The first streaming edition is expected in September 2027, with the exact date still to be announced.

The change is particularly striking because the Emmys exist to celebrate television while their own ceremony is now moving away from conventional television broadcasting.

For international viewers, however, the new arrangement could make the awards considerably easier to follow. Rather than relying on different broadcasters or delayed coverage in individual countries, the same live ceremony will be available globally through Prime Video.

It is another sign of just how dramatically the television industry the Emmys celebrate has changed. Streaming programmes increasingly dominate the nominations, and from next year streaming will become the ceremony's home too.

The first Prime Video Emmy Awards will take place in September 2027.

Images: Television Academy.