The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences hands out a staggeringly-long list of Sports Emmy nominations each year, and this year’s has 268 by outlet, including everyone from FS1’s Katie Nolan to MLB Network/Fox analyst Harold Reynolds. Now, that’s not necessarily 268 individual nominations, as some nominations are split amongst multiple networks or network groups and counted for both, but it’s still an awful lot. By channel, ESPN leads with 40 while FS1 is second with 27, while by network group, ESPN leads Fox 58 to 37. ESPN’s E:60 took the most nominations by program (8), while FS1’s Fox Sports Live (presumably the since-abandoned second version, as the third one’s only been on TV for a couple of months?) tied CBS’s Super Bowl coverage for second with seven. Here are some of the more surprising nominees and categories:
OUTSTANDING PLAYOFF COVERAGE
American League Championship Series FS1
Toronto Blue Jays vs. Kansas City Royals
American League Division Series FS1
Texas Rangers vs. Toronto Blue Jays
Apparently, the Emmy committee loves technical difficulties and Harold Reynolds’ commentary on Canadians’ inability to catch foul balls.
OUTSTANDING SHORT SPORTS DOCUMENTARY:
Never Say Die: Jason Day YouTube
[zero11zero]
Yes, the 10-minute documentary on Jason Day is very good, but is it not worth mentioning that it was produced by one of his key sponsors, RBC?
OUTSTANDING STUDIO SHOW – WEEKLY:
College GameDay (Football) ESPN
Football Night in America NBC
FOX NFL Sunday FOX
Garbage Time with Katie Nolan FS1/FOXSports.com
Inside the NBA on TNT TNT
Did they not have another category more appropriate for Nolan’s show, instead of putting it with all the sport-specific pre-game shows?
OUTSTANDING STUDIO SHOW – DAILY
Inside the NBA on TNT TNT
Is it weekly or daily? I’m so confused. And if only someone (on TNT) could tell me (on TNT) where (on TNT) to find this magical show (on TNT)…
OUTSTANDING SPORTS NEWS ANTHOLOGY
E: 60 ESPN2
NFL Films Presents FOX Sports 1
[NFL Films]
Outside The Lines ESPN/ESPN2
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel HBO
SC Featured ESPN
“NFL Films Presents” seems like an odd inclusion in a category filled with serious sports news reporting not produced by a league.
OUTSTANDING LONG FEATURE
FOX Sports Live FS1
Mr. 900: The Bill Fong Story
No snark this time; it’s nice to see this get a nod, seeing as it was one of the weirdest, most unusual and most interesting features I’ve ever seen on a highlights show. (It’s also nominated for Outstanding Editing – Long Form, Outstanding Music Interpretation, and The Dick Schaap Outstanding Writing Award.)
OUTSTANDING TRANS-MEDIA SPORTS COVERAGE
2015 NCAA March Madness tbs/TNT/truTV
Final Four TeamStream
First, that is a really weird name for this category. Why not “multiplatform”? And putting the TeamStream here seems odd considering how many people still don’t like (or understand) it…
OUTSTANDING SOCIAL TV EXPERIENCE
This is a category. That’s all that needs to be said.
OUTSTANDING SPORTS PERSONALITY – STUDIO ANALYST
Jay Bilas ESPN
Al Leiter MLB Network
Brandon Marshall Showtime
Harold Reynolds MLB Network
Bill Ripken MLB Network
How did MLB Network get three of five nominations here? And how did Harold Reynolds get one?
OUTSTANDING SPORTS PERSONALITY – SPORTS EVENT ANALYST
Jon Gruden ESPN
THIS GUY approves of THIS NOMINATION. THIS GUY is just a chunk of CONCRETE CYANIDE ready to run SPIDER 2Y BANANA. At least THIS GUY is worth his highest-at-ESPN salary.
So, yeah, there are plenty of weird picks here. But with the sheer tonnage of awards being handed out, at least some deserving people will get one?
[EmmyOnline.com]
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About Andrew Bucholtz
Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.