For the first time in 30 years, the Daytime Emmy Awards will not air on a broadcast or cable network. Instead, the awards show will be live-streamed at DaytimeEmmys. net after the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) failed to secure a network for this year.
David Michaels, NATAS senior executive director and coexecutive producer, fully expects the awards ceremony to be back on television next year, however, with three outlets already having expressed interest. CBS-owned cable network TVGN has experessed interest, according to reports. TVGN declined to comment.
“We are very confident it will be back on the air next year,” says Michaels. “This year, we’re going to make it a huge social media event, with live-streaming, a social media lounge and all kinds of additional stuff going on. We’ll have social media hosts on the red carpet in addition to the mainstream press.”
For the last two years, the ceremony has aired on HLN. Prior to that, it spent two years on CBS and one on The CW.
The social media aspects of the show are being handled by Here TV, headed by Paul Colichman. “I’m really passionate about this intersection of social and traditional media,” Colichman says. “I see them as this interwoven fabric. If you are doing it right, you are involved with all of it.”
At presstime, Colichman planned to bring on three to five social media hosts who will contribute to platforms—including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Vine and Instagram—leading up to and during the show. Right now, fans can follow related tweets at #DaytimeEmmys.
“I’m looking for the right mix of people, skills and platforms to which they have access and strong followings,” Colichman says. “Oftentimes, people who are strong on one platform are strong on another.”
NATAS also is setting up a socialmedia lounge in the Beverly Hilton, where the awards show will take place on Sunday, June 22. There, visitors can grab a drink at the bar, watch celebs take selfies in the Celebrity Twitter Mirror and create their own posts. All content created before and during the show will air on DaytimeEmmys.net, including a live stream of the red carpet, the event itself and a running social media stream.
During the show, the social media hosts as well as influencers will move to the social media green room, where the winners will stop after picking up their trophies. “Our hosts will interview every single winner as they come off the stage,” says Colichman.
The show’s host is still to be determined, but the awards show itself is being produced by Spike Jones Jr. (no relation to film director Spike Jonze).
Categorically Changed
The Daytime Emmys also has added a few new categories this year. After years of being a special class category in the Primetime Emmys, the syndicated entertainment magazines now have their own grouping.
“We fought for years to get these programs and finally got them this year,” says Michaels. “We’ve gotten amazing reactions from them since five of those shows now have their first Emmy nominations ever.”
“We are thrilled to finally be included as an Emmy category. The timing is especially significant for us as the nomination comes as we celebrate our 20th anniversary in syndication,” says Lisa Gregorisch-Dempsey, senior executive producer of Warner Bros.’ Extra.
Besides Extra, other nominees in the new outstanding entertainment news program category are NBCUniversal’s Access Hollywood, E! News, CBS Television Distribution’s Entertainment Tonight and Warner Bros.’ TMZ.
Outstanding new approaches-drama series will honor online soap operas, says Brent Stanton, executive director of the Daytime Emmys. This year’s nominees include DeVanity, Tainted Dreams, The Power Inside and Venice the Series.
Besides that category, the Daytime Emmys also honors new approaches—original daytime program and new approaches—enhancement to a daytime program or series, such as online efforts by Warner Bros.’ Ellen or Disney-ABC’s Live With Kelly and Michael.
Finally, the Daytime Emmys this year added three new awards for Spanish-language programs: outstanding entertainment program in Spanish, outstanding morning program in Spanish and outstanding talent in a Spanishlanguage program.
“Those are all being judged by Spanish-language judges,” says Michaels. “The Latin community has been asking about this for a long time. In the past, these shows were required to add subtitles to enter. Now, these people who are judging get the venue and get the culture.”
In the not-too-distant future, Michaels expects there to be an Emmys ceremony dedicated solely to Spanish-language programming. “I think it’s a very good possibility,” he said. “It’s not something we haven’t discussed.”
