Digital and emerging entertainment platforms are receiving more attention from the American TV Academy. The organisation has announced that it is expanding its definition of the Short Form category to include projects from wholly digital media. This essentially means that content creators on media streaming sites like Youtube are eligible to be nominated for an award.
To qualify, the series must have been running for at least six episodes – each of which must be 15 minutes or less in length. The TV Academy does not actually specify that the show must have appeared on Youtube, as its requirement is that the short should have been “exhibited over-the-air and/or via cable, satellite or Internet.” In other words, shorts appearing on other sites like DailyMotion or Vimeo could also potentially qualify.
Unlike the existing Streamys and Webbys, which are award shows that cater to online content creators, the Emmys will be the first time that these nominees will be judged by their peers from television.
Unfortunately, the Short Form category awards are not handed out during the main ceremony. Which means it will not be telecast and are actually announced beforehand.
The TV Academy has been proactive in recognising new entertainment platforms as of late. Last year it expanded its awards to cover content produced by companies like Netflix; which makes this move to cover all shows produced on the web not exactly surprising.
[Source: The Hollywood Reporter]
