ESPN’s networks and Web site were the big winners at last night’s Sports Emmys with a total of 10 awards received at the ceremonies at Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York’s Time Warner Center.
ESPN’s main network nabbed four awards as did ESPN2, with ESPN Classic and ESPN.com grabbing one each of the awards. As a single network, HBO was the big winner with six awards, Fox was next with five, ABC grabbed three and TNT two. CBS and USA each got one award and HBO and NBC split Bob Costas’ studio host award.
A surprise win went to USA for Outstanding Editing on PGA Tour Sunday. TNT won for Outstanding Live Sports Special for its coverage of the 134th British Open. NASCAR was an even bigger surprise with its win on Fox for Outstanding Technical Team-Remote, beating ABC’s Monday Night Football. Fox and NASCAR paired a second time to win Outstanding Live Sports Series.
Outstanding Edited Sports Special went to HBO for the CostasNOW piece David Robinson: A Man in Full, the story of Jackie Robinson’s son who lives in Tanzania, Africa and works as a coffee farmer. Show host Bob Costas called the win “gratifying” and Segment Producer Brian Hyland called it “the most satisfying” of his seven Emmys. Hyland also serves as senior producer for Inside the NFL which won for the second year in a row as Outstanding Studio Show – Weekly. Outstanding Studio Show — Daily went to Inside the NBA Playoffs on TNT.
Winners for Outstanding Sports Personality went to Bob Costas for Studio Host for his work on both HBO and NBC; Play-by-Play went to Joe Buck on Fox; Studio Analyst went to Cris Collinsworth on HBO; and Sports Event Analyst went to ABC’s John Madden.
The Dick Schaap writing Award went to Jeremy Schaap for his work on SportsCenter: Finding Bobby Fischer.
Appropriate for the venue (Jazz at Lincoln Center), musician Evin Marton traveled from Budapest, Hungary and paid an impromptu musical tribute on his Stradivarius violin after winning for Outstanding Music Composition/Direction/Lyrics on ESPN/ABC Sports for World Figure Skating Championships Teases, Bumps, and Rollout.
World Championship Boxing on HBO tied with NASCAR on Fox for Outstanding Live Event Audio/Sound. On the musical note again, HBO Coordinating Producer Dave Harmon revealed the network enhanced the experience with opera microphones in boxer’s corners to pick up specific ambient sound.
Former ESPN executive Mark Shapiro (now head of Red Zone Entertainment) presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Olympics documentarian Bud Greenspan who remarked, “Of all the awards I’ve ever received, this is the highest.”
After a heartfelt presentation, Shapiro commented, “There’s just no way to prepare to introduce an immortal,” saying he was “overcome with emotion.”
The first-ever award for Outstanding Achievement in Content for Non-Traditional Delivery platform went to ESPN.com for The Sports Guy. The show is available on ESPN.com as an animated replay of an ESPNRadio show.
The Special Recognition for Sports Marketing Award went to August Busch IV, President of Anheuser-Busch, Inc. The savvy marketer spoke about preparing for advertising on new media platforms including mobile phones and internet downloads, “We have to make sure we’re a part of that content more so than appointment content,” and, ever sensitive to his audience base and product, added, “If they’re adults, we have to find a way to advertise to them.”
Following the presentation, TNT NBA analyst Charles Barkley added, “Getting people to drink alcohol? That’s a stretch.”
