The Emmy Awards - Information File

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The Emmy Awards are to television what the Academy Award Oscars are to motion picture films. They recognize excellence in various categories within the television industry and are voted upon by the membership of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Each member casts a ballot for the category of competition in their field of expertise. The two most recognized Emmy Awards are for the Primetime Awards and the Daytime Awards. In addition, there are lesser known Emmy Awards: the L.A. Area Awards which are awarded for "broadcast achievements produced or solely financed and controlled by Los Angeles television stations or cable television systems;" the Sports Emmy Awards; the News & Documentary Emmy Awards; the Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards; the International Emmy Awards; and the Business & Financial Emmy Awards. The Primetime Awards and the L.A. Area Awards are under the jurisdiction of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The International Emmy Awards are under the jurisdiction of the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences while all the other awards are under the jurisdiction of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

The first Emmys were awarded in six categories in 1949 and were limited to local Los Angeles programming. Starting with the original six awards in 1949 and continuing through 2008, the Emmys have expanded to 100 Primetime, 73 Daytime, 48 L.A. Area, 42 Sports Awards, 33 News & Documentary, 21 International, 16 Technology & Engineering, and 12 Business & Financial awards.

The Emmys statuette is a winged woman holding an atom with the wings representing the muse of art and the atom representing the electron of science. The statuettes are made of copper, nickel, silver and gold and weigh four and three-quarters pounds. Each statuette requires five and a half hours to make.

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