Television Academy Board Votes to Time Shift Portions of Primetime Emmy Telecast

The Board of Governors for the Television Academy on Wednesday night overwhelmingly voted in favor of a new production proposal for this year's Primetime Emmy Awards. Posed with a telecast that could run over due to expanding the number of nominees in 10 key awards categories, and the desire of broadcast partner CBS, show producer Don Mischer and the Television Academy to up the entertainment quotient in this year's program, the board voted to begin this year's Awards ceremony early, presenting a group of awards categories prior to the 5 PM telecast start time. Those awards, spread over a variety of categories, will not be cut from the telecast. They will be presented in front of the full telecast audience and subsequently edited to eliminate lengthy walks to the stage and other "gaps" between the reading of nominees, winner announcements and acceptance speeches. The edited awards presentations will be rolled back into the show throughout the latter part of the telecast. Mischer and his team are currently evaluating which awards will be time shifted, but it was decided to begin the Primetime Emmy Awards at an earlier time. (The Red Carpet will be opened for arrivals beginning at 2 PM, and the awards ceremony start time is TBA.) It is anticipated that this procedure will provide ample time for Mischer to expand upon entertainment elements in the show.