NBC Sports Group’s 10 Wins Top 35th Annual Sports Emmy Awards
Story Highlights
At the 35th Annual Sports Emmy Awards in New York City on Wednesday, NBC Sports Group once again led the way, taking home a total of 10 awards, followed by the networks of ESPN, which earned seven. Fox Sports, HBO Sports, MLB Network, and Turner Sports (TNT, TBS, and NBA TV) also had big nights with five wins apiece. NFL Network and NFL.com combined for four statues, while CBS and Showtime combined for three. NFL Films also boasted a big night with its name on four Sports Emmy winners. The awards were presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center.
In terms of individual programs, NBC Sports’ Sunday Night Football once again dominated, winning a whopping sixth-consecutive Sports Emmy in the Outstanding Live Sports Series category and four overall on the night (Outstanding Sports Personality – Sports Reporter for Michelle Tafoya, Outstanding Sports Personality – Sports Event Analyst for Cris Collinsworth, Outstanding Production Design/Art Direction for “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night” opener). NBC’s on-air talent was all over the Personality categories with Collinsworth winning his sixth consecutive award as Analyst, Tafoya her second as Reporter, Bob Costas his fourth consecutive (and 26th overall) Outstanding Sports Personality – Studio Host award, and Mike “Doc” Emrick named Outstanding Sports Personality – Play-by-Play for the second time in four years. The network also took home the prestigious George Wensel Technical Achievement Award for its use of Hawkeye Goal Line Technology in its Premier League coverage.
Fox Sports also made a strong showing in the live-game coverage categories, highlighted by two awards for its coverage of the MLB Postseason – Outstanding Live Sports Special (The 109th World Series – Red Sox vs. Cardinals) and Outstanding Playoff Coverage (American League Championship Series, Red Sox vs. Tigers). Fox also took home Emmys for Outstanding Technical Team Remote (NASCAR on FOX) and Outstanding Live Event Audio/Sound (MLB on FOX).
Other programs taking the stage multiple times to accept awards included HBO and NFL Films’ Hard Knocks: Training Camp With the Cincinnati Bengals with three (Outstanding Editing, Post-Produced Audio/Sound, and Music Composition/Direction/Lyrics) and MLB Network’s MLB Tonight with three (Outstanding Technical Team Studio, Outstanding Post-Produced Graphic Design, and Outstanding Sports Personality – Studio Analyst for Harold Reynolds).
Turner Sports’ NBA coverage on TNT also had solid showing at the Sports Emmys: Inside the NBA for Outstanding Studio Show: Weekly, Inside the NBA: Playoffs for Outstanding Studio Show: Daily, and the NBA Playoffs on TNT for Outstanding Studio Design/Art Direction. NBA TV’s The Doctor documentary on Julius Erving received an Emmy for Outstanding Sports Documentary.
HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel captured its 26th all-time Sports Emmy (Outstanding Sports News Anthology), while the network’s 24/7 earned its 18th overall award (Red Wings/Maple Leafs: Road to the NHL Winter Classic won for Outstanding Camera Work).
ESPN’s night was headlined by the first-ever Sports Emmy for the 30 for 30 film series (Outstanding Documentary Series), as well as awards for X Games (Live Graphic Design), E:60 (Journalism), SportsCenter (Short Feature) and football’s College GameDay (Studio Show – Weekly).
In the first Sports Emmys to feature Spanish-Language categories, NBC Sports Group’s Telemundo took home the statue in two of the three categories (Outstanding On-Air Sports Personality and Outstanding Live Sports Coverage) while two ESPN Deportes programs, Nacion and SportsCenter, tied for the third (Outstanding Studio Show).
In addition to handing out trophies in 39 categories, NATAS presented its Lifetime Achievement Award to Ted Turner, recognizing his decades of work in sports television and his role in the evolution and growth of the sports industry as a whole. Current President of Turner Broadcasting System David Levy presented the award to Turner, whose laundry list of accomplishments include launching WTBS and introducing the superstation concept to cable television, owning the Atlanta Braves and Hawks, founding CNN and several additional major cable networks, creating the Goodwill Games, and – perhaps most notably – donating $1 billion of his $3 fortune to the United Nations in 1998.
The full list of award winners is as follows:
The George Wensel Technical Achievement Award | The Premier League – Goal Line Technology | NBCSN |
Outstanding Live Event Audio/Sound | MLB on FOX | FOX |
Outstanding Production Design/Art Direction | “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night” Opening | NBC |
Outstanding Studio Show: Weekly (tie) | College Gameday – Football | ESPN |
Inside the NBA on TNT | TNT | |
Outstanding Long Feature | 60 Minutes Sports, “Great Falls“ | Showtime/CBS News |
Outstanding Editing | Hard Knocks – Training Camp With the Cincinnati Bengals | HBO/NFL Films |
Outstanding Sports Promotional Announcement: Episodic | NHL on NBCSN – “Wednesday Night Rivalry” | NBCSN |
Outstanding Sports Personality – Sports Reporter | Michele Tafoya | NBC |
Outstanding Live Event Graphic Design | X Games | ESPN |
Outstanding Sports Documentary Series: | 30 for 30 | ESPN |
Outstanding Technical Team Studio | MLB Tonight | MLB Network |
Outstanding New Approaches – Sports Programming Short Format (tie) | JFK: The Untold NFL History of That Day in Dallas | NFL.com/NFL Digital Media |
NFL UP! | NFL.com/NFL Digital Media | |
Outstanding Playoff Coverage | American League Championship Series, Red Sox vs. Tigers | FOX |
Outstanding Camera Work | 24/7 “Red Wings – Maple Leafs: Road to the Winter Classic” | HBO |
Outstanding Post-Produced Graphic Design | MLB Tonight | MLB Network |
Outstanding Music Composition/Direction/Lyrics | Hard Knocks – Training Camp With the Cincinnati Bengals | HBO/NFL Films |
Outstanding Sports Promotional Announcement – Institutional | NFL Draft – Leon Sandcastle | NFL Network/Grey, NY |
Outstanding Sports Personality – Play-by-Play | Mike Emrick | NBC/NBCSN |
Outstanding Live Sports Coverage in Spanish | Rumbo Al Mundial – Costa Rica vs. Mexico | Telemundo |
Outstanding Studio Show in Spanish (tie) | Nacion | ESPN Deportes |
SportsCenter | ESPN Deportes | |
Outstanding On-Air Sports Personality in Spanish | Andres Cantor | Telemundo |
Outstanding Sports News Anthology | Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel | HBO |
Outstanding New Approaches – Sports Event Coverage | The 34th America’s Cup – Official App | America’s Cup Event Authority |
Outstanding Open/Tease | Super Bowl XLVII – “We Will Rock You” Remix | CBS |
Outstanding Post-Produced Audio/Sound | Hard Knocks – Training Camp With the Cincinnati Bengals | HBO/NFL FIlms |
Outstanding Sports Personality – Studio Analyst (tie) | Harold Reynolds | MLB Network/FOX |
Tom Verducci | TBS/MLB Network | |
Outstanding Studio Design/Art Direction | NBA Playoffs on TNT | TNT |
The Dick Schaap Outstanding Writing Award | NFL Films Presents – “Yours Truly, Dr. Z” | NFL Network/NFL Films |
Outstanding Sports Documentary | The Doctor | NBA TV |
Outstanding New Approaches – Sports Programming | Sports Ilustrated – “A Boy Helps a Town Heal” | SI.com |
Outstanding Sports Personality – Sports Event Analyst | Cris Collinsworth | NBC |
Outstanding Sports Journalism | E:60 – “Children of the Ring” | ESPN 2 |
Outstanding Technical Team Remote | NASCAR on FOX | FOX |
Outstanding Short Feature | SportsCenter – “Richie Parker: Drive” | ESPN |
Outstanding Live Sports Series | Sunday Night Football | NBC |
Outstanding Studio Show – Daily | Inside The NBA on TNT: Playoffs | TNT |
Outstanding Edited Sports Event Coverage | All Access “Mayweather vs. Canelo Epilogue” | Showtime |
Outstanding Live Sports Special | The 109th World Series – Red Sox vs. Cardinals | FOX |
Outstanding Sports Personality – Studio Host | Bob Costas | NBC/MLB Network |