CBS to Air Daytime Emmys, Which Returns to TV for the First Time in Five Years
By Michael Schneider
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – The Daytime Emmy Awards are heading back to TV. Nine years after the kudocast last aired on a broadcast network — and five years after it was last on TV — CBS will once again telecast the Daytime Emmys, to be held on Friday, June 26.
CBS last aired the Daytime Emmys in 2011. The telecast then moved to cable in 2012 and 2013 (HLN) and was last seen on TV in 2015, via Pop TV. After that, it’s been relegated to online, via YouTube, Facebook and KNEKT-TV streams.
The Daytime Emmys has nonetheless maintained a bit of a relationship with CBS in recent years, as it continued to announce its nominees exclusively on the Eye network’s “The Talk.” This year, the 47th annual Daytime Emmy nominations will still be revealed on “The Talk” and CBS-owned ET Online, via an announcement on Thursday.
“The Daytime Emmys are coming home,” said National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences president and CEO Adam Sharp. “For generations, daytime television has been a source of comfort and continuity that’s never been more important. We’re delighted to join with CBS in celebrating the programs and professionals who never cease to brighten our days.”
This is a big last minute shift in strategy for NATAS, which had previously revealed plans to launch a streaming service that would serve as the place to watch the Daytime Emmys and its other awards shows.
The new over-the-top platform is still being planned, but its launch was originally timed to the Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards in April, and the Sports Emmys in May, both of which were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Originally scheduled to take place in Pasadena, Calif., from June 12 to 14, the Daytime Emmy Awards were postponed last month to a new, undetermined fall date. Now, this brings the telecast back to June as originally planned.
The Daytime Emmys used to be a broadcast mainstay, rotating between ABC, NBC and CBS in its heyday. But NBC dropped out after 2004, and ABC after 2008. The CW aired it in 2009, and then CBS aired it in 2010 and 2011, the final year it was on broadcast — until now.
This will be the 14th time that CBS has broadcast the Daytime Emmys, the most of any network.
“As a leader in daytime, we are thrilled to welcome back the Daytime Emmy Awards,” said Jack Sussman, Executive Vice President, Specials, Music and Live Events for CBS. “Daytime television has been keeping viewers engaged and entertained for many years, so it is with great pride that we look forward to celebrating the best of the genre here on CBS.”
There’s no word yet on who will host this year’s telecast, but “The Talk’s” Sheryl Underwood and “Access Hollywood’s” Mario Lopez have hosted every year since 2016.
Associated Television International will produce the remote telecast, which will feature awards “in leading categories, with recipients and other special guests appearing from home in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.” Additional categories will be announced simultaneously on Twitter (@DaytimeEmmys), with others presented in a separate ceremony in July.
“In these challenging times, daytime has been a primary influence in staying connected with its audience, entertaining them and keeping them informed,” said executive producer and director David McKenzie of ATI, which previously produced the 2009 Daytime Emmys on The CW, as well as the 2010 and 2011 shows on CBS. “We are honored to be a part of it. We are also excited for the challenge of introducing a new format that will celebrate the contributions of daytime television.”
The Daytime Emmy Awards launched in 1974, and are presented to individuals and programs broadcast between 2 a.m. and 6 p.m. as well as certain categories of digital and syndicated programming of similar content.
This year’s Daytime Emmys received more than 2,700 submissions and were judged by a pool of 1,000 peer professionals from across the TV industry.
[Photo: Judge Judy Sheindlin at the 46th annual Daytime Emmy Awards.]
