Why the Emmys Moving to Amazon Prime Video Won’t Fix What’s Broken With Award Shows

Awards Circuit Column: Amazon can give the Emmys a new home, but it can’t fix category drama or solve problems buried in the voting process.

By Clayton Davis

Clayton Davis

Chief Awards Editor

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Spoiler alert: Moving to streaming isn’t enough to fix award show problems.

Mariska Hargitay closed the 78th Emmys on Monday night from the Peacock Theater, and the ceremony she sent off may be the last of its kind. Since 1949, the Emmys have belonged to broadcast television. Future editions may not.

As Variety exclusively reported, the Television Academy is in advanced talks to move the show to Amazon Prime Video, taking the Emmys off broadcast television for the first time in history. TV Academy Chair Cris Abrego said only that “conversations are continuing.” This move would drop the Emmys into the same territory as the Oscars and SAG-AFTRA’s Actor Awards (the former heading to YouTube in 2029, the latter already on Netflix). Viewers will now require a subscription to tune in. Is that good or a bad thing?

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