20 years of the International Emmy Awards.
The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences began to honor programming made outside the United States with an "International Award" in 1963. Ted Cott, who led the Academy's International Relations Committee at that time, noted that the purpose of the award was to "promote international understanding and to bring to the attention of the American public the outstanding television programs presented in different countries around the world."Winners during those early years included War and Peace from Granada Television (UK) in 1963, Les Raisins Verts from Radiodiffusion Television Francaise (France) in 1964 and Le Barbier de Seville from Societe Radio Canada in 1965. Originally there were no category distinctions and only one award was presented. For the 1965 competition two classifications were created, fiction and non-fiction, and a year later they were retitled entertainment and documentary.
In 1969, The International Council was rounded, as a branch of The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences but with its own separate Board of Directors. Its primary purpose was, and remains, the awarding of the International Emmy.
The first International Emmy Awards, as we know them today, were in 1973. There were two Awards, one for fiction, won that year by La Cabina, made by Television Espanola, Spain, and a non-fiction Award, won that year by the BBC for Horizon: The Making of a Natural History Film.
The fiction and non-fiction awards continued until 1979 when new awards were introduced and the categories were more clearly defined. Replacing the previous two, there were now awards for the best drama, documentary, performing arts and popular arts programs.
In 1983, the category for children's programming was introduced. Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock entered by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation won that year. In further defining that category, in 1988 it became: Children and Young People.
In 1989, a sixth category was introduced: that of Arts Documentary. The winner that first year was Gwen-A Juliet Remembered, a program made by British independent Saffron Productions for BBC Television.
The number of entries has grown considerably over the years. The International Council announced a record high in 1990 when over 250 programs entered for these awards. More countries are being represented, with new organizations entering every year. There have been countless trends over the years, and in 1992 what is most apparent is that more independent companies, especially in the UK, France and Canada, are entering rather than relying on the broadcasters to enter their programs for them.
According to Gillian Rose, deputy director of The International Council and the person responsible for the administration of these awards, there has been a continuity of entries over the years. "The major companies have always entered and continue to do so. We receive more entries now from small independent operations that may make just one or two programs a year. It is gratifying that they enter those one or two programs a year. "But", she added, "our aim is to encourage entries from parts of the world that rarely, if ever, submit programs. I am sure that every broadcast operation on earth has at least one program that it is proud of and could enter. I don't think the word is getting to them, but it is my job to try and persuade them to try. After all, if you don't enter, you have absolutely no chance of winning."
 Printer friendly
 Cite/link
 Email
 Feedback
| |
| Title Annotation: | Int'l Emmy Special |
|---|---|
| Publication: | Video Age International |
| Date: | Nov 1, 1992 |
| Words: | 559 |
| Previous Article: | The 1992-93 International Council of NATAS membership directory. |
| Next Article: | The broadcast. |
| Topics: | |
| Int'l Emmy Awards: more than just prizes for British shows. |
| What is an Emmy worth? |
| Int'l Emmys: 25 and going strong. |
| Stolte and Venza to receive awards. |
| Let's do lunch. |