Disney Snares Grammys From CBS in First Change for Music Awards in 50 Years

Disney hopes the Grammys can sing a new tune.

The annual music awards program, which has been shown on CBS since 1973, will move to Disney outlets starting in 2027. The company said it will simulcast the kudosfest across ABCHulu and Disney+ as part of a 10-year deal that will make it the home of the event through 2036 and will include a series of music specials produced by The Recording Academy, the backer of the spectacle.

The deal means Disney will have rights to show the Grammys, the Super Bowl and the Oscars in 2027, a trifecta that will give the company new leeway to craft large ad packages with major sponsors.

At the same time, awards shows have lost some of their luster in recent years. Celebrities are easier to see on social media, meaning that the appeal of gathering them on TV has dimmed, because they can be spotted on X, YouTube or Instagram more readily. Nearly 40 million people watched the Grammys on CBS in 2013, but this year’s event collected just 16.9 million viewers. Even so, that figure marked a jump of 34% from 2023’s average of 12.4 million.

Disney has demonstrated a noted interest in popular music in the recent past, securing deals to show a documentary of unseen Beatles footage on Disney+ as well as the first streaming of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton” musical. In March, Disney+ streamed a movie of Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” performance.

“Live events have never been more important to our culture and industry, and we just acquired one
of the crown jewels, adding to our portfolio of world-class programming across all genres,” said Dana Walden, co-chair of Disney Entertainment, in a prepared statement.

“We are grateful to our long-standing partners at CBS and now honored to be joining with Disney, an iconic company where creators have always been at the forefront,” said Grammys CEO Harvey Mason Jr. “This partnership represents another important milestone in the Academy’s transformation and growth, and strengthens our ability to fulfill our mission of uplifting and serving music people around the world.”

CBS is said to have paid around $20 million a year after it struck a pact with the Academy in 2016 to show the Grammys for a decade.

The Disney deal will bring the Grammys back to ABC after a long absence. The network served as home to the awards in 1971 and 1972. Loss of the event to CBS spurred the creation of the American Music Awards, which was backed by Dick Clark Productions and aired on ABC from 1974 to 2022. Intriguingly, CBS recently secured rights to the American Music Awards along with another Dick Clark Productions-backed property, the Golden Globes. Dick Clark Productions is part of a partnership between PMC, Variety’s parent, and Eldridge Industries, a holding company controlled by Todd Boehly.