Overview
The Television Academy's Primetime Emmy Awards recognize excellence within various areas of television and emerging media, including interactive programming.
The Interactive Media Emmy Awards recognize excellence in interactive programming that extends or enhances the viewing experience of a television program or series, or stand-alone as original storytelling. Programs must have been commercially distributed, domestically, in the period from June 1, 2020 - May 31, 2021. Television Academy membership is not required to submit an entry.
Interactive Media entries must have been widely and openly available on a public website or online location, and available to at least 50% of the total potential U. S. television market. Entries that were available only in a limited number of physical locations, through closed or "invitation only" websites, or exhibited solely at conferences, shows, events or festivals, are not eligible. This includes gated experiences that limit the total throughput of possible viewers to less than 50% of the total potential U. S. television market.
Online submissions for these categories are NOW OPEN until May 13, 6:00 PM. Submit entries for consideration here: awards.televisionacademy.com/login
The full 2021 Emmy Awards Industry Calendar is here: Emmys.com/calendar
In 2021, there are two award program categories for interactive Emmys:
Interactivity Requirement:
Submissions must leverage interactive components that emphasize viewer immersion and/or engagement and are central and fundamental to the work itself. Interactivity may range from minimal, possibly including immersive executions such as 360° video/VR/AR, to heavy interaction where viewer input and actions continuously and directly affect the outcome of the program.
Submissions must demonstrate excellence via substantive authorship of content and user experience to provide meaningful audience engagement. The interactivity must go conspicuously beyond the native platform capabilities such as registration and sign-up, likes, commenting, sharing, simple marketing features, and current "table stakes" practices of usage for such platforms.
Category 44 OUTSTANDING INTERACTIVE PROGRAM
Emmy(s) awarded to producer(s), company(s), and/or individual(s) responsible for the integrated interactive experience of an interactive television program.
Submitted programs may be a) related to an existing linear television program or series, adapted from outside material, or b) may be a stand-alone interactive television program, created originally for a digital medium.
For this category, we are looking for interactive programs that contain a full narrative, plot-driven story line or series structure (scripted or non-scripted), with which the viewer can fully engage and interact.
For example:
The program is a singular interactive program, such as Bandersnatch, You vs. Wild, The Line, Wolves in the Walls, Mosaic, The Oscars: All Access, or is an interactive program series on a platform like Twitch, such as Artificial.
The program is an interactive experience that fully immerses the viewer in the linear series storyworld through interactive narratives that exist alongside the linear series, such as Mr. Robot Season_4.0 ARG, Big Mouth Guide to Life.
The program is immersive, using 360 or VR capabilities allowing the viewer to participate in the world of the program either actively or passively, such as Solo 360, Traveling While Black, or Pearl.
Juried 45 OUTSTANDING INNOVATION IN INTERACTIVE PROGRAMMING
Emmy(s) awarded to producer(s), company(s), and/or individual(s) responsible for the creation of a noteworthy, impactful interactive program or experience that advances the art and science of Interactive Media, demonstrating mastery of the form and significantly elevating the audience's viewing experience.
This award honors exceptional distinctiveness, inventiveness, and impact of the submitted work toward expanding the conventions of program format, content, audience interaction, and delivery. Such work may reflect a reimagining or reworking of existing concepts and approaches in a new way or may be an entirely novel type of experience.
The jury consists of the members of the Interactive Media Peer Group executive committee (PGEC). Entries are reviewed and voted on solely by the PGEC in close consultation with a panel of experts in interactive media chosen by the IMPG Governors. Together, they seek to recognize work that not only suggests a path to a possible future in interactive entertainment, but actually delivers practical execution of a new approach, construct, or implementation. Winning submissions will challenge the status quo and drive forward the industry's perception and application of interactive media in the context of television.
The PGEC jury vote solely determines the Emmy winner(s). There is the possibility of one, more than one, or no award given. Winner(s) are announced prior to the awards presentation.
The PGEC jury may declare "jury finalists," and declared jury finalist(s) will receive a certificate honoring them as a finalist. Finalists do not have any of the rights and privileges of nominees.
Examples of programs that are not eligible:
Marketing campaigns and ancillary video content that has been aggregated together and intended primarily to promote a linear television program are not eligible. Unless these marketing experiences are interactive/immersive themselves, and substantively offer the viewer actual story, plot, and content integrated into the storyworld of the on-air program to which they are connected, they cannot be considered an interactive television program. Typically, social content is used to promote late night show or other non-scripted linear programming. While some of these experiences were eligible for Emmy submission in prior years, they are no longer eligible, in an effort to focus requirements specifically on programming.
Experiences that have defined themselves as a motion picture, short film, enhanced live theater experience (using VR or AR, for example), podcast or format/medium other than television are not eligible for Emmys. Some exceptions may apply for the OUTSTANDING INNOVATION IN INTERACTIVE PROGRAMMING Juried Award, which may allow experiences that are unique hybrids of more than one medium, and that meet distribution criteria to allow consideration as a variation of "interactive television." Questions about such submissions should be directed to the Governors of Interactive Media Peer Group here; however, final determinations will be made by the IMPG Executive Committee during the vetting process.
AR experiences created for marketing and awareness purposes may not be eligible, unless they are story-driven and expand the plot, story, or characters of the underlying program.
Interactive platforms such as simple electronic program guides, on-demand or time-shifted content viewing platforms, video playlists, or applications that simply provide navigation access to content selections are not eligible.
Passive, linear programs and live streaming programs that do not have interactive components affecting the content, plot, viewable area, structure of the program, nor allow the viewer to participate in a substantive way, are not eligible. Table-stakes social interactivity such as liking, sharing, and commenting are not considered "substantive" and are therefore not eligible.
Games are not eligible. Professionally-produced, Interactive Media experiences with game-like interaction may be eligible if they immerse the viewer in a distinct story-world, its characters, settings and style. These are typically interactive adventures or explorations that allow the viewer to act as an in-world character and follow a storyline as the experience progresses, unfolding in a way similar to viewing a traditional television program. Eligible entries are not win-oriented, nor do they involve observing others engaged in gameplay, nor test a viewer's response time. Eligibility of such entries shall be decided by the Interactive Media Peer Group Executive Committee with the concurrence of the Primetime Awards Committee.
updated 4.6.21
