THE TV Academy has scrapped plans to “time-shift” eight categories into this year’s Emmys telecast.
Translation: all awards will now air live, in real time.
The academy set off a Hollywood kerfuffle when it agreed to pre-record the winners in eight Emmy categories, then insert those winners’ speeches into the live telecast.
The original intent was to speed up a show that’s been shedding viewers each year. Last year’s Emmycast snared 12.3 million viewers — an all-time low.
But perfectionists complained that the so-called “time-shifting” would kill the “live” aspect of the telecast and would encroach on the face time of the nominees in those eight categories (including writing nods for Best Drama Series).
“This decision was made to mend relationships within the television community and to allow executive producer Don Mischer to focus his full attention on producing the creative elements in the telecast,” the academy said a statement yesterday.
The Emmys air Sept. 20 on CBS.