The GRAMMYS have been a fixture on CBS since 1973, and now The GRAMMYS have found a new home at the House of Mouse beginning in 2027.
Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Dana Walden and The Recording Academy® CEO Harvey Mason Jr. announced an unprecedented new 10-year global deal for The GRAMMYS® to be exclusively simulcast on ABC, Hulu, and Disney+ beginning in 2027 — making The Walt Disney Company the first new home for Music’s Biggest Night® in 50 years.
The Recording Academy and Disney entered into an agreement that solidifies the company as the destination for The GRAMMYS through 2036. As part of this deal, The Recording Academy will also produce multiple GRAMMY-branded music specials and additional new programming for audiences around the world across Disney’s platforms.
The GRAMMYS is a marquee addition to The Walt Disney Company’s slate of some of the best and most prestigious live event programming across entertainment and sports — from The Oscars®, The CMA Awards, and Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest to the leading multiplatform sports entertainment brand, ESPN. In fact, in the first year of this agreement, 2027, ABC will present The GRAMMYS, The Oscars, and Super Bowl LXI.
Disney has shown an interest in popular music in more recent years by 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 2024, Disney+ streamed a movie of Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” performance.
“As The Walt Disney Company combines forces with The Recording Academy to open this exciting new chapter in the history of The GRAMMYS, we do so with pride and gratitude,” said Walden. “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.”
“We are completely thrilled to be bringing The GRAMMYS and other new music programming to the Disney ecosystem,” said Mason. “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. 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.”
For The Recording Academy, this announcement follows a series of notable achievements: the addition of 3,000 new women voting members; an announcement of the Academy’s global expansion of its mission; the enactment of over a dozen pro-creator laws at the state and federal levels, championed by Academy members; two consecutive GRAMMY telecasts with substantial ratings growth; and recognition by Fast Company on its Most Innovative Companies list.
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.
What do you think about this change? Do you watch The GRAMMYS every year? Let us know in the comments.
