- The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony will be held ‘virtually’ on September 20, 2020.
- Jimmy Kimmel will host the 2020 Primetime Emmy Awards.
- The Primetime Emmy Awards will be broadcast live on ABC.
The 72nd Emmy Awards set for September 20, 2020 will be unlike any in the history of the event. The awards show is typically held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles but due to the COVID-19 pandemic the 2020 Primetime Emmys will be held ‘virtually’. The logistical challenges of the event are daunting–the format of the show is still being finalized but the plan is to have a camera and if possible a professional camera operator station where every nominee is located on the night of the Emmys. For those of you scoring at home, that could be as many as 140 separate live feeds.
Jimmy Kimmel will host the awards and he’ll be stationed at the Staples Center. There will be no audience and the ‘red carpet’ festivities have been eliminated. The home of the Los Angeles Lakers was chosen due to its size and technical amenities. The size of the building facilitates better ‘social distancing’ among the crew while the technical elements are necessary to handle the multitude of live feeds.
Producers are taking the opportunity to re-imagine the awards show format according to Ian Stewart, president of Done + Dusted–one of the companies involved in putting the show together:
“We shouldn’t lose sight that Emmys are prestigious awards, and we’re not giving them out for fun, we’re giving them out to reflect excellence. However, apart from that, it’s all available to be blown up, quite frankly. Because awards have been the same way for many, many years.”
Executive producer Reginald Hudlin told Variety that the adaptations that will be made something of a ‘storyline’ and that viewers will be taken behind the scenes:
“As you watch the show, you’ll see what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. We think that will actually be part of the excitement of watching what we’re doing. We’re going to be very transparent about what’s happening and why.”
Hudlin admits that the production of the show is in a constant state of flux:
“We start every day by reinventing the show. And then by the end of the day we rip it all down and then we start again the next day. I sound like I’m joking, but I’m kind of not. You may be wondering, ‘Reggie, aren’t you very close to show time to not be certain?’ Yes, we know!”
The Emmy Awards have not fared well in the ratings of late. Last year’s broadcast was the lowest rated in history, breaking the dubious record set the previous year. The Fox TV broadcast brought in only 6.9 million viewers making it the first time that the broadcast had attracted fewer than 10 million viewers. Awards shows in general have been on a ratings downward spiral in the past decade. Even so, the Emmys’ 32% drop from the previous year was by far the largest of the 2019 televised award shows.
The dynamics of the broadcast landscape for this year’s awards are unique and that could produce a rebound in the Emmy’s ratings. The unique format of the broadcast will likely be worth watching just to see how the producers pull everything off. The logistical challenges could also evoke some sympathy from TV critics who savaged the 2019 broadcast such as The Hollywood Reporter’s chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg who said that producers made ‘one bad choice after another’.
Entertainment odds are one of our specialties here at SPORTSINSIDER.COM and I’ve personally set odds on every major awards show dating back to the 2003 Oscars. Stay tuned for the official SPORTSINSIDER.COM odds on every category at the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards along with prop bets you won’t find anywhere else. We’ll also bring you full analysis of each category to give you the most comprehensive betting coverage of the event available anywhere.
