All but one of the trophies presented at the 78th Emmy Awards on Monday went to a program running on a streaming platform.
Now the ceremony may be heading to streaming as well.
The Television Academy is in talks to move the annual program to Amazon Prime Video, which would end the tradition of rotating the celebration on the four major broadcast networks, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Variety was the first to report Amazon’s interest. A TV Academy representative said, “We’re having conversations and when we have something to announce we will do so.”
If the Academy makes the move, the Emmys would be the second major entertainment business awards show to move to streaming. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is ending its long relationship with ABC and moving the Oscar telecast to YouTube in 2029.
The Emmy Awards, like most live trophy shows, is no longer the major ratings attraction it used to be especially among younger viewers who prefer to watch clips of speeches and red carpet entrances on social media platforms. The audience for the ceremony has been at around 8 million in recent years.
One reason the Emmy Awards may go to Amazon is that ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox are unhappy that they have to produce and carry a telecast that has turned into a three-hour plus commercial for its streaming competitors Netflix, HBO Max and Apple TV, which devote far more of their resources on prestige programs that appeal to Emmy voters.
The portions of the ceremony that salute the broadcast network programs tend to be nostalgia driven. The only broadcast winner to make it to the stage on NBC’s presentation Monday was cancelled CBS late night host Stephen Colbert.
“It’s a lot of effort and not a lot of return,” said one broadcast network executive not authorized to comment on the matter publicly.
But having an awards show that celebrates television presented on a streaming platform behind a pay wall would be a major symbolic statement that traditional viewing on the networks has lost its cultural relevance.
A move to streaming means the Emmy Awards would lose the support the ceremony gets from the network that carries the broadcast. The rights holder typically airs specials promoting the show on affiliated TV stations and morning show segments, although those advantages have mattered less in recent years as traditional viewing has diminished.
Netflix has explored bidding for the rights to the Emmy Awards in recent years, but the streamer was not able to come up with a deal that made economic sense. The last contract reportedly paid around $8 million a year for the rights.
Netflix did pick up the Screen Actors Guild Awards (now called The Actor Awards), which does not have the same profile as the Emmys or Oscars.
Amazon Prime Video has been the most aggressive streamer when it comes to pursuing live events, but mostly in sports. Prime carries the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football” package and a significant portion of the NBA’s TV rights.
The streamer did acquire the rights to the Academy of Country Music Awards in 2022.
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