The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), also known as the National Television Academy until 2007, is an American professional service organization founded in 1955 for "the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and the promotion of creative leadership for artistic, educational and technical achievements within the television industry". Headquartered in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, NATAS membership is national and the organization has local chapters around the country. NATAS distributes several groups of

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

, including

Daytime Daytime or day as observed on Earth is the period of the day during which a given location experiences Daylight, natural illumination from direct sunlight. Daytime occurs when the Sun appears above the local horizon, that is, anywhere on the ...

Sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

, News and Documentary, and Children's and Family Emmys. NATAS is a sister organization to the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the

International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (IATAS) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Membership organization, membership organization, based in New York City, composed of leading media and entertainment executives acro ...

, the other two bodies that present Emmy Awards to other sectors of television programming.

History

NATAS was originally established when the

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) merged with a New York academy founded by Ed Sullivan. The Los Angeles chapter then broke away from NATAS in 1977, splitting the distribution of the several groups of

as part of their agreement. Among others, ATAS continues to present the Primetime and Los Angeles Emmys; while NATAS is responsible for the

, News and Documentary, Children's and Family, and the regional Emmys outside of Los Angeles. Sister organization

(IATAS), presenter of the International Emmys, was then founded in 1969 as the International Council of the NATAS.

Organization

One of its past presidents, Don DeFore, was instrumental in arranging for the

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

s to be broadcast on national TV for the first time on March 7, 1955. Other past presidents include Diana Muldaur, John Cannon, Peter Price, Frank Radice and Bob Mauro.

Awards

National awards

NATAS distributes several US national level groups of Emmy Awards, including: * Daytime Emmy Awards * Sports Emmy Awards * News & Documentary Emmy Award * Technology & Engineering Emmy Award * Children's & Family Emmy Awards * Public Service Emmy Awards

Regional awards

19 Regional NATAS chapters organize award ceremonies of their own, awarding Emmy statues similar to those given out at the national ceremonies. They also administer their own regional scholarship and student productions award programs. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences gives out only the Los Angeles, CA Regional Chapter Awards.

Defunct

NATAS also supervised the

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

s until a split between the East and West memberships in the 1970s led to the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences leaving NATAS. ATAS supervises the Primetime and Los Angeles area Emmys, while NATAS is in charge of the other Emmy honors. In 2007, the organization spawned a peer organization dedicated to new media, called the National Academy of Media Arts & Sciences (NAMAS).

Magazine

NATAS published a

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

, ''Television Quarterly'', which started in 1962.

Controversy

Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda was nominated in July 2024 for the 45th News and Documentary Emmy Awards for Outstanding Hard News Feature Story: Short Form for "''It's Bisan from Gaza and I'm Still Alive.''" Around 150 people from "Creative Community for Peace" signed a call for the nomination to be rescinded. This organization is a part of the entertainment community who have come together to promote the arts as a bridge to peace, to educate about rising antisemitism within the entertainment industry, and to galvanize support against the cultural boycott of Israel. Adam Sharp, NATAS president and chief executive, responded by saying that experienced journalists had made the nomination decision and that the academy had not found any evidence that Owda was affiliated with the PFLP.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Television organizations in the United States Arts organizations based in New York City + Arts organizations established in 1955 1955 establishments in New York City