Two distinguished Television Academy figures will be honored at this year’s Realscreen Awards.
Television Academy chair Cris Abrego will be inducted into the Realscreen Summit’s Hall of Fame at the Realscreen Awards, taking place February 4, in Miami. In addition, Dawn Porter, governor for the Academy’s Documentary Programming peer group, will be recognized by Realscreen with its Action Award.
"It is our distinct pleasure to induct Cris Abrego into the Realscreen Hall of Fame," said Barry Walsh, content director and editor-in-chief of Realscreen. "As an entrepreneur, television executive, showrunner and award-winning producer, he has been at the leading edge of so many of the evolutions that have shaped unscripted television, and with Hyphenate Media Group, he and his team are set to create further innovations across the spectrum of entertainment content in the years ahead."
Of Porter and her acclaimed work as a documentarian, Walsh shared in a statement: "Over the span of her incredible filmography, Dawn Porter has shone a spotlight on the people and issues that need our attention. With this work, she has gained the admiration of audiences, network partners and fellow filmmakers, while presenting us all with perspectives that point towards compassion, action and hope."
In addition to being inducted into the Realscreen Hall of Fame, Abrego will participate in a keynote conversation on Wednesday, February 5, during a special “crossover” day between the Summit and the 2025 edition of NATPE Global.
Abrego, an executive, showrunner and award-winning producer, partnered with Eva Longoria in 2023 to launch Hyphenate Media Group, where he serves as co-founder and chief executive officer. He also sets the strategy and vision across the studio and all its holdings and investments.
Abrego previously served as CEO of Endemol Shine Holdings, where he grew the company aggressively by scaling several key holdings under its banner in both the U.S. and Latin America, including Endemol Shine Boomdog, Endemol Shine Brasil and Truly Original.
His entrepreneurial capabilities came to the fore in 2003, when he co-founded 51 Minds Entertainment, where he pioneered the celebreality genre with such breakthrough unscripted formats as The Surreal Life and its numerous spin-offs. The company became a major unscripted studio and was acquired by Endemol five years later.
In 2022, Abrego was elected chairman of the Television Academy Foundation, the charitable arm of the Television Academy. Then, in January 2024, he became chair of the Television Academy itself, taking the reins of the 23,000-plus member organization that oversees the Emmy Awards.
Porter, founder of Trilogy Films, is an award-winning documentary filmmaker whose work has appeared on ESPN, Netflix, HBO, PBS and Discovery. Her latest feature doc, Luther: Never Too Much, about the renowned singer, songwriter and music producer Luther Vandross, premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where it earned accolades from critics and audiences alike.
For more information on the Realscreen Awards, visit the official website here.
