Primetime Emmy Awards

The Primetime Emmy® Awards salute excellence in national primetime programming, presenting top honors at the annual Creative Arts gala and Primetime Awards telecast. A number of special awards, like the Governors Award and Bob Hope Humanitarian Award (more on those below), may be bestowed during these ceremonies as well.

The first Emmy® Awards ceremony was held on January 25, 1949, at the Hollywood Athletic Club, and was devoted solely to programming that originated from Los Angeles, where the Television Academy was founded. Over time, the Emmys expanded to include programming aired throughout the United States.

Today, the Primetime Emmy® is a symbol of peer recognition from over 15,000 Television Academy members. Members from more than two-dozen peer groups vote for the category of competition in their field of expertise.

2010 Primetime Emmy Awards
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2009 Primetime Emmy Awards
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2008 Primetime Emmy Awards
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2007 Primetime Emmy Awards
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2006 Primetime Emmy Awards
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Special Honors

In addition to the many categories of Primetime Emmy Awards presented to programs and individuals for production and performance excellence, some very prestigious special honors, such as the Governors Award, are bestowed during the Primetime Emmys.

The Governors Award

The Television Academy Board of Governors bestows its esteemed Governors Award upon individuals, companies or organizations who have made a substantial impact and demonstrated the extraordinary use of television.

The Board's presented recent Governors Award recipient Sheila Nevins, president of HBO Documentary Films, with her award during the 2009 Creative Arts Emmy® Awards gala.

The Bob Hope Humanitarian Award

The Television Academy Board of Governors established the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award in 2002, as a tribute to the the iconic career and life of Bob Hope. This high honor is a nod to the Hope's more than fifty years of pioneering contributions to the radio and television industries, both as family mediums and as platforms for sociopolitical commentary.

The special Hope Humanitarian honor is not bound to be given annually with the traditional categories of Emmys, only as deemed fitting and approved by the Hope Humanitarian Award selection committee (composed of Academy members) and a representative of the Bob and Dolores Hope Charitable Foundation. Since its establishment, three honorees — Oprah Winfrey, Bill Cosby and Danny Thomas (presented posthumously, accepted by his daughter, actress Marlo Thomas) — have received the Hope Award.

The Syd Cassyd Founders Award

The Syd Cassyd Founders Award — named in honor of the Television Academy’s founder — was created to recognize members who have made a significant positive impact on the Academy through their efforts and service over many years of involvement.

Like the Hope Award, the Syd Cassyd Founders Award is not bound to be given annually with the traditional categories of Emmys. The Cassyd honor was bestowed for only the time ninth ever, in 2009 to longtime Television Academy attorney and advisor Dixon Q. Dern.