Emmys Moving to Amazon Prime Video: Will It Solve Award Show Woes?

The Emmys, a television staple since 1949, are reportedly in advanced talks to move from traditional broadcast television to Amazon Prime Video. This significant shift could see the 78th Emmys, recently closed by Mariska Hargitay at the Peacock Theater, as the last of its kind on a major network.

This move follows a trend, with the Oscars reportedly heading to YouTube in 2029 and the SAG Awards (now 'The Actor Awards') already on Netflix, necessitating a subscription to tune in.

So, is this a step forward or a leap into deeper waters for award shows?

While Amazon can offer the Emmys a new home, experts suggest it won't automatically solve deeper issues like category drama or voting process problems.

The underlying question is whether moving to a streaming service can genuinely grow an audience or merely shift it.

The recent 78th Emmys telecast on NBC drew 6.7 million viewers, a 9% decrease from the previous year's 7.4 million.

This decline adds pressure to find new ways to engage audiences.

Advocates for a single platform ownership argue it could lead to greater investment and promotion, allowing the show to evolve without the 'wheel' system, where different networks hosted each year. Under the old system, a network might invest heavily only to hand off the built-up audience to a rival the following year, hindering long-term development.

However, history offers a cautionary tale: when Fox exclusively held Emmy rights from 1987, ratings plummeted from nearly 36 million in 1986 to just over 12 million by 1990.

Looking at more recent streaming experiments, the SAG Awards' move to Netflix in 2024, despite the platform's massive subscriber base, only garnered 1.8 million views, roughly what it pulled on cable. It even missed Netflix's U.S. Top 10, though it cracked the Top 10 in Canada.

Even with a tighter show, better reviews, and legendary appearances like Barbra Streisand in 2025, the audience didn't significantly spike.

This raises critical questions about whether distribution is truly the core dilemma for award shows struggling to maintain relevance and viewership in a fragmented media landscape.

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