ITV Exclusive: Broadband-Delivered TV Programs Now Eligible for Primetime Emmys

--IMPG Co-Governor, Brian Seth Hurst, Explains the Move to [itvt]

Responding to the recent rapid growth of broadband TV, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Board of Governors has changed the organization's bylaws to make TV programming distributed through broadband eligible for the Primetime Emmy Awards across all categories (note: the Primetime Emmys, which are broadcast live in the US on network television, are considered the Television Academy's main awards event). "Rather than establish a separate or second-tier-type award for broadband, we felt that broadband programming would, in fact, be of high enough quality to compete with television programming distributed by broadcast, cable or satellite," Television Academy boardmember, Brian Seth Hurst, told [itvt] earlier today (note: Hurst is co-governor of the Academy's Interactive Media Peer Group). "So theoretically, a comedy show, for example, that was produced and distributed for broadband could compete with shows such as this year's Emmy-nominated 'Two and a Half Men' from CBS."

Broadband programming that happens to be interactive will continue to be eligible for the Television Academy's interactive TV Emmy, but now any broadband program--whether a broadband original or an online spin-off of a traditional TV show--"can be entered for directing, sound editing, best actor, best animation, etc.--i.e. for all the categories in which Emmys are awarded," Hurst explained. While even short-form broadband programming will now be eligible for the primetime Emmys, Hurst told us that the Television Academy has no immediate plans to make made-for-mobile programming eligible. [itvt] asked Hurst why the Academy had decided against creating a separate Emmy category for broadband TV programming: "We felt that you have to be careful about establishing more Emmys, because that could devalue the awards," he said. "By making broadband programming eligible for the primetime awards, we're also challenging broadband programming to compete with standard television programming, and we have complete faith that it will rise to the challenge."

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