President’s Welcome

WELCOME FROM THE PRESIDENT

Welcome to the 2020 International Emmys, Pandemic Edition. The Emmy® is the same today, but almost everything else is slightly different. Most importantly, we are unable to stage our usual thousand-person Gala in New York. The reasons are obvious, but still sad. However, we have done everything we can to recognize and celebrate the great work of our nominees around the world in front of their peers. Indeed, our virtual event is being seen by a lot more than a thousand people. It is being streamed on the Academy’s website, www.iemmys.tv, around the world and we have direct links that we pray will work with the 44 of tonight’s nominees, who will be joining us from 20 different countries. This is a late morning/early afternoon ceremony because it turns out this is the best time to find most people around the world either just getting up or still awake.

Today’s ceremony is coming to you from the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. We have all the usual crew here and others who will arrange the communications with our nominees. Everyone is properly masked and socially distanced and will stay that way throughout the ceremony. We’re particularly proud that some of our Partners are participating in the ceremony, with appearances from presenters Caua Reymond from Rio for Globo, Fu Xiaotian from Hong Kong for Phoenix, International Emmy winner Haluk Bilginer from Istanbul for Ay Yapim, Caroline Peters from Cologne for NRW Film and Media Fund and Miguel Angel Sylvestre from Madrid for HBO. In addition to the eleven Emmys for programming, we are presenting one Special Award. The International Academy is proud to be presenting the 2020 International Academy’s Founders Emmy® to Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York, to recognize his leadership during the pandemic and his masterful use of television to calm and inform the population. The last few months have been such a difficult time for so many people around the world and there is clearly more suffering to come. But the reality of the situation is that people have to stay home, much more than they usually do and when they stay home, they watch television. Therefore, it’s hard to think of a year when the celebration of great television and the people who make it is more important and more thrilling than right now. So, it’s a pleasure for me to welcome all of you from around the world to the 48th International Emmy® Awards Ceremony. Thank you for being with us and our thanks to the people who make this event possible.

Bruce L. Paisner

President & CEO The International Academy of Television Arts & Scienceslegebility of signature