The Emmy Awards 2015

An Emmy Award recognizes excellence in the television industry, and corresponds to the Academy Award (for film), the Tony Award (for theatre), and the Grammy Award (for music).

Because Emmy Awards are given in various sectors of the American television industry, they are presented in different annual ceremonies held throughout the year. The two events that receive the most media coverage are the Primetime Emmys and the Daytime Emmys, which recognize outstanding work in American primetime and daytime entertainment programming, respectively. Other notable Emmy Award ceremonies are those honoring national sports programming, national news and documentary shows, national business and financial reporting, and technological and engineering achievements in television. Regional Emmy Awards are also presented throughout the country at various times through the year, recognizing excellence in local and statewide television. In addition, International Emmys are awarded for excellence in TV programming produced and initially aired outside the United States.

Three related but separate organizations present the Emmy Awards: the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS), and the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (IATAS). Each is responsible for administering a particular set of Emmy ceremonies.

The Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) established the Emmy Award as part of an image-building and public relations opportunity.[4] The first Emmy  Awards ceremony were presented on January 25, 1949, at the Hollywood Athletic Club, but solely to honor shows produced and aired locally in the Los Angeles area. Shirley Dinsdale has the distinction of receiving the very first Emmy, for Most Outstanding Television Personality, during that first awards ceremony.

The Emmys are presented in various area-specific ceremonies held annually throughout the calendar year, ranging from honoring nationally televised shows to regionally and locally produced programs. Each ceremony has their own set of nominating and voting procedures, along with different rules regarding voting committees. Also, the various ceremonies each have own set of award categories, and it is not uncommon for them to have some of the same names (e.g. Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series and Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series).

Primetime Emmys:

The Primetime Emmys are presented in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming. Ceremonies generally are held in mid-September, on the Sunday before the official start of the fall television season, and are currently broadcast in rotation among the ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox networks.  Some award categories presented to behind-the-scenes personnel such as art directors, costume designers, cinematographers, casting directors, and sound editors are awarded at a separate Creative Arts Emmys ceremony held a few days earlier.  The Primetime Emmys are run and voted on by members of the ATAS. For most categories, members from each of the ATAS’ branches vote around June to determine the nominees only in their respective categories. All members can however vote for nominations in the best program categories. The final voting to determine the winners is held in August.  Additionally, the ATAS also presents several Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards to individuals, companies, or to scientific or technical organizations in recognition of significant developments and contributions to the technological and engineering aspects of television. Among them is the Philo T. Farnsworth Corporate Achievement Award, given to honor companies who have significantly affected the state of television and broadcast engineering over a long period of time. These are awarded at their own ceremony approximately a month after the other Primetime Emmys, and separate from the NATAS’ Technology & Engineering Emmy Award repertoire.

Daytime Emmys:

The Daytime Emmy Awards, generally are held in June, are presented in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming. The first daytime-themed Emmy Awards were given out at the primetime ceremony in 1972, but the first separate awards show made just for daytime programming was not held until 1974.  Like the Primetime Emmys, a separate Creative Arts Emmy ceremony is also held a few days earlier to honor the behind-the-scenes personnel working in daytime television.  The Daytime Emmys are run and voted on by members of the NATAS. Voting is done by peer judging panels. Any active member of the NATAS, who has national credits for at least two years and within the last five years, is eligible to be a judge. Depending on the category, voting is done using either a ratings score criteria or a preferential scoring system.[15] All the drama acting categories have an addition preliminary voting round called the “pre-nominations”, where one or two actors from each show is selected to then move on and be considered for the primary nominations for the awards.

Sports Emmys:

The Sports Emmy Awards are presented for excellence in sports programming. The awards ceremony takes place every Spring, usually sometime in the last two weeks in April or the first week in May, and is held on a Monday night in New York City.  Voting is done by peer judging panels. The NATAS solicits anybody with significant experience in national sports production to serve as judges. The panels are organized so that they only have one representative from each corporate entity (i.e. CBS Corporation, Disney, NBCUniversal, 21st Century Fox, Time Warner etc.) Most categories only have a single voting round using preferential scoring system. The top 5 entries in each category are announced as the “nominations”, and then the top entry is announced as the Emmy winner later at the awards ceremony.

News and Documentary Emmys:

The News & Documentary Emmy Awards are presented for excellence in national news and documentary programming. The awards ceremony takes place every Fall.  Voting is done by peer judging panels. The NATAS solicits anybody with significant experience in national news or documentary reporting or production to serve as judges. Most categories have two voting rounds, with separate judging panels in each round. The top entries in each category are announced as the “nominations”, and then the top entry is announced as the Emmy winner later at the awards ceremony.

Technology and Engineering Emmys:

The Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards are presented to individuals, companies, or to scientific or technical organizations in recognition of significant developments and contributions to the technological and engineering aspects of television. The award is determined by a special NATAS panel composed of highly qualified, experienced engineers in the television industry.

Regional Emmys:

There are 20 total regional chapters located across the United States that each conduct regional awards to recognize excellence in all the regional television markets, including state to state programming as well as local news and locally produced shows. Nineteen of the regional chapters are affiliated with the NATAS,[20] while the Los Angeles-based ATAS acts as the regional chapter serving the Los Angeles area.  In general, a show is considered regional if it does not reach more than 50 percent of U.S. households; programs that reach more than 50 percent of the country must enter into one of the national Emmy competitions instead.  The Regional Emmys are essential in helping NATAS and ATAS honor the works of deserving individuals in local TV through a regional outreach. Like the national awards, each region goes through their own rigorous nomination and voting procedures. Committees are formed to review entries for eligibility and high standards. Once accepted, each entry goes before different review committees, and their votes are cast to determine the final nominees. The final votes are then calculated by certified accounting firms within each region. Regardless of winning on a national or regional level, all recipients are “Emmy Award” winners. Originally, each Regional Emmy Awards ceremony primarily focused on only honoring individuals in local news programming. The regionals have since been expanded to encompass all locally and state to state-produced shows that receive less than fifty percent of the country’s viewing audience.