Why Emmys 2026 Is on Monday, Not Sunday

The 2026 Emmys is being punted to a different day this year.

While entertainment award shows are traditionally held on Sunday nights, the 2026 Emmys ceremony is jumping ahead 24 hours to Monday, Sept. 14.

But why is TV’s big night taking place on a different day than usual? The reason has to do with two things: the Cowboys and the Giants. 

This year, NBC and Peacock hold the rights to air the 78th Emmys ceremony under the soon-to-expire “wheel deal,” which is a longstanding broadcast agreement between the four major networks—ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX—to rotate airing the ceremony annually and pay $8.25 million in license fees, per Variety. But both NBC and Peacock are also home to NFL Sunday Night Football.

And since the Dallas Cowboys were scheduled to play the New York Giants on Sunday, Sept. 13, the Emmys were pushed to Monday so the network and the streaming platform could air both.

NBC most recently aired the Emmys in 2022 and 2017, with both occurring on Monday nights to avoid a scheduling conflict with Sunday Night Football.