Groups Battle for Engineering and Technology Emmy Awards
Dispute Could Jeopardize Ceremony at Opening of Consumer Electronics Show
By Linda Haugsted -- Multichannel News, 12/20/2007 7:31:00 PM
Writers and producers aren’t the only ones with active disputes over jurisdictional issues. The East Coast-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the West Coast Academy of Television Arts and Sciences are squabbling over who has the rights to present awards for broadband programming and other technological fields.
The dispute could jeopardize the presentation of Emmy Awards for engineering and technology, currently scheduled for presentation on Jan. 7, at the opening of the Consumer Electronics Show.
Both organizations co-own the rights to present Emmy awards. In 1977, both factions sat down and worked out an agreement giving NATAS the right to present awards for daytime fare (anything telecast from 2 a.m. to 6 p.m.). ATAS presents the primetime Emmy Awards for fare from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.
But in 2005, NATAS decided to create an Emmy competition for broadband fare, then added those categories to its ceremony in 2006 and 2007. ATAS created a broadband competition, too, which was added to its ceremony this year (won by Current TV). In October of 2006, the two branches began negotiations on who had jurisdiction to present broadband Emmys, but the talks broke down this year.
So in March, ATAS initiated an arbitration proceeding in California, alleging that NATAS had violated the 1977 agreement by presenting awards based on delivery method, not day part.
Earlier this month, the American Arbitration Association ruled in favor of ATAS. That branch has authority over primetime programming, and its related Web content, no matter when the latter is viewable. That means ATAS has authority over some of the broadband technology nominated for the Jan. 7 awards and NATAS shouldn’t conduct the awards. That will jeopardize possible Emmys for nominees including Starz, Time Warner Cable, TVN Entertainment, Showtime, MTV, DirecTV and the Disney Internet Group, among others. The panel issued a decision split 2-1 among the arbitrators.
Because of the strength of the dissent by that third judge, NATAS has appealed the AAA decision to the Supreme Count of New York, New York County. NATAS repeats the assertion of the dissenting arbitrator that AAA “rewrote” the 1977 agreement which the two branches have been operating under for 30 years. NATAS has asked the court to act in time to save the Jan. 7 awards ceremony.
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