Grammy Awards 2027 Dates Set as CBS Broadcast Partnership Ends

LOS ANGELES — The Recording Academy has announced the dates for the 2027 Grammy Awards and confirmed the end of its long-running broadcast partnership with CBS. The announcement marks a significant shift in how the world’s most prestigious music awards will reach audiences going forward.

The Academy said the 2027 ceremony will take place in February 2027, maintaining the traditional early-year schedule. However, for the first time in the Grammys’ history, the broadcast will not air on CBS. The Recording Academy said it has reached a new deal with a streaming platform, though the specific partner has not yet been publicly named.

The decision reflects the broader shift in entertainment consumption away from traditional broadcast television toward streaming services. Network television audiences for major award shows have declined steadily over the past decade. Streaming partnerships offer higher fees, global simultaneous access, and younger audience demographics that advertisers increasingly prefer.

For Nigerian music, the Grammy news is particularly significant. Burna Boy has won a Grammy and received multiple nominations. Wizkid has been nominated. Nigerian artists and the broader Afrobeats genre have been increasingly present in Grammy conversations. A streaming-based broadcast could further expand the global audience for Nigerian music at the ceremony.

What Changes for Viewers

The shift from CBS to streaming means that Nigerian fans who previously watched Grammy highlights through cable or satellite TV will need to access the ceremony through a streaming platform. Details about whether the stream will be free or behind a paywall have not been announced.

In addition, streaming allows for longer ceremony coverage, interactive features, and simultaneous international distribution without the broadcast rights restrictions that television deals impose. The Recording Academy said it intends to use the flexibility of the streaming format to make the 2027 Grammys a more immersive and globally accessible event.

Furthermore, the end of the CBS partnership closes a chapter that began in 1973. The network broadcast the Grammys for over five decades, making it one of the longest-running entertainment partnerships in American television history. CBS said it is proud of the relationship and wishes the Academy well in its new chapter.

Nigerian Music and the Grammys

Nigerian artists have made remarkable progress at the Grammys in recent years. Burna Boy won Best Global Music Album in 2021 for Twice As Tall and again in 2023. Wizkid won Best Global Music Performance for Essence. The growth of Afrobeats as a globally recognised genre has made Nigerian music a regular part of Grammy conversations.

The Recording Academy created the Best Afrobeats Performance category for the 2024 Grammys, formalising the genre’s mainstream status. Nigerian artists will likely dominate that category for the foreseeable future, given the genre’s creative output and global streaming dominance.

Music industry observers in Lagos said the Grammy streaming shift is a net positive for Nigerian artists. More accessible global viewership means larger international audiences discovering Nigerian music through Grammy coverage. It accelerates the internationalisation of Afrobeats that artists like Burna Boy, Wizkid, and Asake have been building for years.