Three related but separate organizations present Emmy Awards:
- the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences honors national prime time entertainment (excluding sports);
- the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences recognizes daytime, sports, news and documentary programming; and
- the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences honors programming originating outside the United States.
The best-known of the awards are the Primetime Emmys (some of which are classified as "Creative Arts Emmys") and the Daytime Emmy Awards.
Primetime Emmys
The Primetime Emmys are presented in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming. They generally air in mid-September, on the Sunday before the official start of the fall television season. They are currently seen in rotation among the four major networks (CBS, ABC, NBC, and Fox).
Daytime Emmys
The Daytime Emmy Awards 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.
Sports Emmys
The Sports Emmys 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.
Technology and Engineering Emmys
Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards are presented to individuals, companies, or to scientific or technical organizations in recognition for their significant developments and contributions to the technological and engineering aspects of television.
Regional Emmys
There are twenty chapters of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, located across the United States, that conduct regional awards to recognize excellence in all the regional television markets. Because the headquarters of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences are located in Los Angeles, the Academy also handles the Los Angeles area membership and regional awards. These awards are less glamorous than the Prime Time Emmys and are sometimes technical.
International Emmys
The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences hands out awards which honor the best of non-US television.
Identifying these recipients can take months, with judging taking place at various international TV festivals. The best two programs from a particular genre in four regions are selected to go to a semifinal round, from which the nominees are derived. Every nominee is screened at a festival in New York the day before the awards ceremony.
Other Emmys
Emmy Awards are also handed out for:
- National TV newscasts and documentaries
- Business and financial reporting
- Public Service (for public service announcements and whenever TV programs "advance the common good")
The Bob Hope Humanitarian Award is also awarded by the ATAS.
History
The first Emmy Awards were presented on January 25, 1949 at the Hollywood Athletic Club. The name "Emmy" was a feminization of "immy", a nickname used for the image orthicon tubes that were common in early television cameras. Shirley Dinsdale has the distinction of receiving the very first Emmy in the first awards ceremony. The Emmy Awards trophies are currently made by a private company with a manufacturing site at the maximum security El Dorado Correctional Facility, in El Dorado, Kansas.
The statuette of a winged woman holding an atom has since become the symbol of the TV Academies' goal of supporting and uplifting the art and science of television: The wings represent the muse of art; the atom the electron of science. It was created by television engineer Louis McManus, using his wife as a model.
See also
- List of Primetime Emmy winners - for Best Comedy, Best Drama, Best Comedy Actor, Best Drama Actor, Best Comedy Actress, and Best Drama Actress only
- List of Daytime Emmy winners - for Best Drama, Best Drama Actor, Best Drama Actress, Best Supporting Drama Actor, Best Supporting Drama Actress, Best Young Drama Actor, and Best Young Drama Actress only
External links
- Primetime Emmy Awards
- International Emmy Awards
- Daytime Emmy Awards
- National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences chapters
- Boston / New England
- Chicago / Midwest
- Cleveland
- Heartland
- Lone Star
- Los Angeles
- Michigan
- Mid-America
- Mid-Atlantic
- Nashville / Midsouth
- National Capital/Chesapeake Bay
- New York
- North California
- Northwest
- Ohio Valley
- Pacific Southwest
- Rocky Mountain Southwest
- Southeast (Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina)
- Suncoast
- Upper Midwest
- Emmy Awards coverage on DigitalHit.com
- Emmy Awards Online with Emmy news, nominees, and winners.
- Emmy Awards news in portuguese with realtime coverage and nominees lists.