Telecast rights to the Primetime Emmys remain in limbo with just five months until the event, raising the possibility of a production crunch in readying this year’s show if negotiations go on much longer, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has held eight months of negotiations for a new agreement with ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox to air the show on a rotating basis among the networks, but a broadcaster has not been signed to air the Sept. 18 telecast, the story notes.
The two sides reportedly remain apart on key points, including the networks’ desire to shorten the show, which would mean cutting some categories. Those categories may be meaningful to the television industry, but aren’t to the public, the networks argue. That’s an issue, the story says, particularly given the show’s ratings declines during the past 10 years.
I love the Emmys. I’d hate to see them not air but if the networks are so concerned about ratings, then don’t bother airing them.
It’s an AWARD show. People are either interested, or they are not. Hosts and categories aren’t going to matter if the show is well-paced, sharply written and at least moderately entertaining.
Additionally, the broadcast networks are doing themselves no favors by trying to be niche like a cable network instead of mass appeal as a BROADcast network should be.
Hence, a lot of great TV, even if not as widely-viewed, is on cable and honored as such by the Academy — which is going to have an affect on the ratings.
So the networks should either air the show that honors the best in TV and let it be that, produce better programming that will be generate attention from the Academy or just turn it into a popularity contest. I’m pretty sure viewers would love to see the cast of ‘Jersey Shore’ nominated in a few marquee categories.