As the Emmys’ Current Contract Expires, It’s Time to Switch From a ‘Wheel Deal’ to a ‘Roadblock’
Could we be coming to the last gasp of the Emmy telecast as we know it? After CBS airs this year’s Primetime Emmys on Sept. 14, the clock starts ticking on the future of where the kudocast might be found. That’s because on Sept. 15, the Television Academy can begin negotiating a new broadcast deal for the ceremony.
The current Emmy “wheel deal” with the four major broadcast networks, which alternate airing the show annually, expires in 2026. Under the arrangement, NBC is set to air next year’s Emmys; after that, the rights to the telecast are up in the air. Later this month, the Television Academy will start the exploratory talks on whether to simply continue the wheel — which has been in place since 1995 — or do something completely different.
I’ll repeat something I first wrote in a column last year: It’s time to go with the “something completely different” option. I don’t need to point out how much the television landscape has changed from 30 years ago, when nearly 20 million viewers watched Jason Alexander and Cybill Shepherd host the 1995 Emmys on Fox. The world has even changed quite a bit from 2018, when the most recent eight-year wheel deal was struck (coincidentally, the last time the telecast attracted more than 10 million viewers).
I’m even more resolute in my belief that for the Emmys to make any sort of impact, and really help the TV industry promote itself, the ceremony needs to be televised as an industrywide “roadblock.” That means airing the ceremony live, at the same time, on every broadcast, cable and streaming outlet, as well as on YouTube and as many social media platforms as possible. In this on-demand age, sure, audiences could still watch something else — but with the Emmys available and highlighted in so many venues at once, viewers would clearly get the message that the Emmys are on.
A roadblock would be easy to achieve, and honestly makes the most sense in an age when viewers are everywhere. Given that the Emmys are no longer broadcast-only awards, they shouldn’t be a broadcast- only telecast. (Yes, the broadcasters simulcast the Emmys on their sister streamers, as with this year’s CBS combo with Paramount+. But in this vast TV landscape, that’s a sliver of options available to audiences, and it will still be easy to miss host Nate Bergatze cracking wise.)
The Emmys aren’t the Oscars, Grammys, Tonys or Golden Globes, which benefit from the promotional heft of being on the same outlet year after year. Because the Emmys celebrate the entire industry, an exclusive deal with just one outlet limits TV industrywide support to tune in. (And when it previously tried striking a deal with a single network, the TV Academy alienated everyone else.)
The four-network wheel was an elegant solution for its time. But it’s no longer viable for just four outlets to take turns carrying the entire load of supporting the biggest night in television. It’s an industrywide awards show, so shouldn’t everyone share in the celebration?
If everyone were to showcase the Emmys, that would also eliminate any concerns about favoritism. It even works better from a financial perspective: If the business all contributed to the pot, everyone’s expenses would be reasonable. And increased audiences would mean higher ad rates, which would help pay for the show (the TV Academy gets about $8 million a year for its license fee, split among the four networks). Roadblocks are commonly used to support charity events (“Stand Up to Cancer”) or fundraisers like disaster relief telethons. I’d say promoting the TV industry and making sure it stays vibrant with audiences is an extremely important cause as well.
I recently ran the roadblock concept by TV Academy president and CEO Maury McIntyre, and he was game. “We love that idea,” he told me. Let’s make sure the Emmys succeed. For a business struggling to maintain relevance, the benefits of an Emmy roadblock, touting TV’s best to the widest audience possible, are enormous.
The current Emmy “wheel deal” with the four major broadcast networks, which alternate airing the show annually, expires in 2026. Under the arrangement, NBC is set to air next year’s Emmys; after that, the rights to the telecast are up in the air. Later this month, the Television Academy will start the exploratory talks on whether to simply continue the wheel — which has been in place since 1995 — or do something completely different.
I’ll repeat something I first wrote in a column last year: It’s time to go with the “something completely different” option. I don’t need to point out how much the television landscape has changed from 30 years ago, when nearly 20 million viewers watched Jason Alexander and Cybill Shepherd host the 1995 Emmys on Fox. The world has even changed quite a bit from 2018, when the most recent eight-year wheel deal was struck (coincidentally, the last time the telecast attracted more than 10 million viewers).
I’m even more resolute in my belief that for the Emmys to make any sort of impact, and really help the TV industry promote itself, the ceremony needs to be televised as an industrywide “roadblock.” That means airing the ceremony live, at the same time, on every broadcast, cable and streaming outlet, as well as on YouTube and as many social media platforms as possible. In this on-demand age, sure, audiences could still watch something else — but with the Emmys available and highlighted in so many venues at once, viewers would clearly get the message that the Emmys are on.
A roadblock would be easy to achieve, and honestly makes the most sense in an age when viewers are everywhere. Given that the Emmys are no longer broadcast-only awards, they shouldn’t be a broadcast- only telecast. (Yes, the broadcasters simulcast the Emmys on their sister streamers, as with this year’s CBS combo with Paramount+. But in this vast TV landscape, that’s a sliver of options available to audiences, and it will still be easy to miss host Nate Bergatze cracking wise.)
The Emmys aren’t the Oscars, Grammys, Tonys or Golden Globes, which benefit from the promotional heft of being on the same outlet year after year. Because the Emmys celebrate the entire industry, an exclusive deal with just one outlet limits TV industrywide support to tune in. (And when it previously tried striking a deal with a single network, the TV Academy alienated everyone else.)
The four-network wheel was an elegant solution for its time. But it’s no longer viable for just four outlets to take turns carrying the entire load of supporting the biggest night in television. It’s an industrywide awards show, so shouldn’t everyone share in the celebration?
If everyone were to showcase the Emmys, that would also eliminate any concerns about favoritism. It even works better from a financial perspective: If the business all contributed to the pot, everyone’s expenses would be reasonable. And increased audiences would mean higher ad rates, which would help pay for the show (the TV Academy gets about $8 million a year for its license fee, split among the four networks). Roadblocks are commonly used to support charity events (“Stand Up to Cancer”) or fundraisers like disaster relief telethons. I’d say promoting the TV industry and making sure it stays vibrant with audiences is an extremely important cause as well.
I recently ran the roadblock concept by TV Academy president and CEO Maury McIntyre, and he was game. “We love that idea,” he told me. Let’s make sure the Emmys succeed. For a business struggling to maintain relevance, the benefits of an Emmy roadblock, touting TV’s best to the widest audience possible, are enormous.