Emmy Awards

The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are awards that celebrate the best in television. They honor both the creative ideas and the technical skills used in making TV shows. Many different Emmy Award ceremonies happen throughout the year, each with its own rules and categories. The two most famous events are the Primetime Emmy Awards and the Daytime Emmy Awards. The Primetime Emmys recognize great shows that air in the evening, while the Daytime Emmys celebrate shows that air during the day.

There are also special Emmys for children's shows, like the Children's & Family Emmy Awards, as well as awards for sports shows, news programs, and even the technology behind television, such as the Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards. Regional Emmys honor excellent local television across the country, and the International Emmy Awards celebrate TV made outside the United States.

The Emmy statue shows a winged woman holding an atom and is named after “immy,” a word for a type of camera tube used in early TV. The Emmys are one of the four biggest awards in American entertainment, along with the Grammy for music, the Oscar (Academy Award) for film, and the Tony for Broadway theater. These awards have been given out since 1949 and have grown to include many different kinds of TV work.

History

The Emmy Awards began in 1949, created by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in Los Angeles. The first ceremony honored local Los Angeles shows, and Shirley Dinsdale received the first award for television personality. The name "Emmy" comes from "Immy," an old slang term for a TV camera tube.

As television grew, the Emmys expanded to include national shows. In 1955, a new group was formed in New York to support East Coast members. Over time, different Emmy events developed, such as the Daytime Emmys in 1974 and the International Emmys for shows made outside the United States. Today, there are many types of Emmy Awards to celebrate different kinds of television programs, including those seen online. In 2021, changes were made to include more streaming shows and to better organize categories for different types of programming.

Statuette

The Emmy statuette shows a winged woman holding an atom. It was designed by television engineer Louis McManus in 1948. The wings stand for art, and the atom stands for science.

The name "Emmy" comes from an old term for a camera part. The different Emmy awards have statues of different sizes. The Primetime Emmy statue is made of copper, nickel, silver, and gold, and it takes many hours to make each one carefully.

Types

Many Emmy Awards events happen each year to honor great work in television. Each event has its own rules and categories. Some events have the same category names as others. For example, there is a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series and a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series.

Shows can only enter one Emmy event. A show that is seen in many places in the U.S. can enter the national Emmy events. Shows that are only seen in some places can enter the Regional Emmys instead. Streaming shows must be available to most of the U.S. to enter a national Emmy event.

Primetime

Main articles: Primetime Emmy Award and List of Primetime Emmy Awards ceremonies

The Primetime Emmys honor excellent work in American primetime television shows. These ceremonies usually happen in mid-September, and are shown on networks like ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox. Some awards for people who work behind the scenes, like art directors and costume designers, are given at a separate Creative Arts Emmys ceremony a few days earlier.

Daytime

Main article: Daytime Emmy Award

The Daytime Emmy Awards honor excellent work in American daytime television shows. These ceremonies usually happen in May or June, but in 2025 they moved to October. The first Daytime Emmys were given in 1972, but the first separate show for daytime awards was in 1974. Like the Primetime Emmys, there is a separate Creative Arts Emmy ceremony for people who work behind the scenes in daytime television.

Sports

Further information: Sports Emmy Award

The Sports Emmy Awards honor excellent work in sports television shows. These ceremonies usually happen in April or May in New York City. Judges with experience in sports television decide the winners.

News and documentary

Further information: News & Documentary Emmy Award

The News & Documentary Emmy Awards honor excellent work in national news and documentary television shows. These ceremonies usually happen in the fall, but in 2025 they moved to June. Judges with experience in news and documentary television decide the winners.

Children's and family

Main article: Children's & Family Emmy Awards

In 2022, new awards called the Children's & Family Emmys started to honor excellent work in children's and family television shows. Before this, these awards were part of the Daytime and Primetime Emmys. The change happened because there are now many more children's and family shows, especially on streaming services.

Engineering

Main articles: Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards and Technology & Engineering Emmy Award

The Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards and the Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards honor people and companies that make important advances in television technology. The Technology & Engineering Emmys usually happen in January, and the Primetime Engineering Emmys usually happen in October.

Regional

There are 20 regional Emmy award groups across the United States that honor excellent work in local television shows. These shows do not reach most of the U.S. These regional awards have their own rules and ceremonies.

International

Main article: International Emmy Award

The International Emmy Awards honor excellent television shows made outside of the United States. These awards have been given every year since 1973 and usually happen in November in New York City.

Student

College students can enter the College Television Awards to be recognized for excellent work in shows they made for school. High school students can enter the National Student Production Awards for excellent work in shows they made for school.

Humanitarian and public service

The Bob Hope Humanitarian Award is given to someone in television whose work helps society. There is also a Public Service Award for programs that help the common good.

Criticism

Some people believe that separating awards for male and female actors in the Emmy Awards, Academy Awards, and Tony Awards is not fair. They think that having separate categories might not be right, even though some worry that men might win more if there were only one category for both men and women. Other award shows, like the Grammy Awards, changed to have just one category in 2012. The Daytime Emmy Awards also made a change in 2019 by creating one award for younger performers in drama series instead of having separate awards for younger male and female actors.