In a groundbreaking new partnership, the former rivals will now share members in the peer groups Children’s Animation, Children’s Live Action, Daytime, and Documentary.
Under a groundbreaking new partnership between Los Angeles’ Television Academy and New York’s National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS), qualifications for membership in their shared peer groups (Children’s Animation, Children’s Live Action, Daytime, and Documentary) will now be identical, granting automatic enrollment to both organizations, according to Variety. The qualifications cover both incoming and preexisting members for both academies.
The move is part of NATAS’ initiative to recruit national members for the first time after a new board of directors appointment this year. The organization’s new “peer groups” are created to mirror the Emmy categories Children’s Animation, Children’s Live Action, Daytime, and Documentary.
“We share a common goal of ensuring that the Emmy remains our industry’s ‘gold standard’,” said NATAS executive committee chairperson Terry O’Reilly. “While our respective academies recognize different genres of work, we believe that bringing our memberships together in this way will allow us to better recognize the breadth of television professionals working today, and to open doors to even more emerging artists who seek to join their peers and predecessors in the art of compelling storytelling.”
“The Television Academy’s Board of Governors enthusiastically embraced the creation of dual/national membership,” commented TV Academy chair Cris Abrego. “This shift enhances the membership experience for Television Academy members whose work is recognized in the NATAS administered Daytime Emmys and Children’s and Family Emmys, and unifies members from both academies who are committed to advancing excellence in documentary programming and promoting the technical and scientific evolution of our field.”
Although both academies have harbored a rivalry over award jurisdiction spanning nearly 50 years, they have recently begun to heal the rift as they realign Emmy ceremony award categories.
Pre-registration for the newly minted peer groups opens this month, with NATAS’ national membership set to launch in 2025.
Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologist—L'Wren brings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.
