Standard Clauses

Refund Policy/Terms & Conditions

 

PURPOSE:  To recognize outstanding achievements in television and allied media by conferring annual awards of merit in the Chapter’s designated award region.  The presentation of these awards is intended to be an incentive for the continued pursuit of excellence for those working in the television and media industry and to focus public attention on outstanding cultural, educational, technological, entertainment, news, informational programming and craft achievements in television and online.

SUBMISSION ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible, original entries must have been transmitted to the general public by a television station, a cable company, satellite, the Internet or other digital delivery medium. Eligibility is limited to digital and telecast/cablecast programming that was originally produced and intended for the Chapter’s regional or local audience during the Chapter’s eligibility year.

Broadcast and cablecast entries must have been produced and intended for a regional or local audience within the Chapter's designated awards area and must have had their first transmission in that awards area during the eligibility period. Entries produced and intended for a wider audience (a national audience) should be submitted for consideration in NATAS’ national awards.

Video content distributed via the Internet must have been produced and intended for a regional or local audience within the Chapter's designated awards area. Internet content intended for a wider audience (a national audience) should be submitted for consideration in NATAS’ national awards.   

Additional eligibility clarification notes:

1. Local station news coverage that may receive national exposure should be submitted to regional Emmy^® Award competitions.
2. A documentary film that has a limited theatrical release at film festivals (showing on 50 or fewer screens in the U.S. over a one-year period) before telecast or being made available online is eligible provided the program content is produced and intended for the regional or local audience. Documentary films with a theatrical debut more than one year prior to their television or streaming debut will not be eligible.
3. Local content that later receives national distribution may be submitted to either a regional or a national awards competition, but not both.
4. Local segments that are eligible to participate as entries in National Emmy^® Award competitions (i.e. News & Doc) may compete in both regional and national awards competitions under prevailing rules.

 

REGIONAL vs. NATIONAL

In determining whether content distributed online, without geographic restriction, is more

appropriate for submission to a regional competition or a national one, entrants should

consider the following:

• Subject matter must be regionally or locally focused rather than national or global in scope
• If the content or program has been submitted into any of the NATAS national competitions in a previous or current awards cycle, it may no longer be submitted
• Company/individual has entered other similar content into NATAS national competitions.
• If the program or content has been promoted to/marketed to a national audience or produced in association with a national media brand, it may not be entered regionally.
• All promotional and craft-category submissions associated with the content must be submitted to the same competition.

 

Regional content that later receives national distribution may be submitted to either a Regional Awards competition or a relevant National Awards competition, subject to the following restrictions:

• Content may only be submitted to a single competition. A program submitted to a regional competition may not then be submitted to a national competition or another regional competition.
• All craft-category submissions associated with the content must be submitted to the same regional or national competition.
• Eligibility for a regional competition is determined by the date the production was first telecast or made available online or via VOD in a region.
• Eligibility for a national competition is determined by the date the production was first telecast or made available online or via VOD nationally.

 

ORIGINAL MATERIAL

At least two-thirds of an entry must consist of original material, unless previously produced material has been given some unique and creative treatment that, in the opinion of the Chapter Awards Committee, results in new, original content.

Materials provided by a news service, cooperative news association or similar source must be treated as previously produced material, unless originally intended for first release in the Chapter’s regional awards eligibility area to which it was submitted with on-site supervision by the entrant.

 

CONTENT ELIGIBILITY

The interpretation of the Chapter Awards Committee is final and absolute. Entries must be submitted as originally shown. There may not be any post-distribution changes except as noted in the category descriptions.

The following programming is not eligible:

1. Pornographic, violent, defamatory or offensive content.
2. Previously distributed programs, series or related craft content which was distributed and met eligibility requirements during a previous awards year or another Emmy^® competition.
3. Program length commercials or infomercials.
4. Closed circuit content or internal communications.
5. No content produced or created for a regional or national Emmy^® awards show may be submitted to an Emmy^® awards contest. Related craft material is also ineligible.
6. Motion picture content that premiered in general release to the public in theaters.
7. Compilation reels, “clip shows” or “best of…” programs that were edited from original content.
8. Any acquired foreign productions not originated in the United States.

 

 

ENTRY QUOTA

In order to sustain a high level of award excellence, Chapters must continue to self-regulate their entries, making sure only the appropriate individuals are recognized. To maintain this consistency, there is a maximum quota of 12 eligible names allowed on each entry. Any name(s) added beyond this number will require written authorization from the primary responsible entrant detailing the additional job title and responsibility. Chapters would then have the option of accepting these additional entrants or not.

CATEGORY VIABILITY

In the event that the number of entries in a category falls below a range of four (4) to nine (9), Chapters have the option of eliminating or merging the category with another. If a category is merged, entrants would have the option of dropping out of the competition and receiving a refund of their entry fees.

Categories for which entrants do not readily volunteer to judge may be eliminated in the following eligibility year.

EXCERPTS

An excerpt is defined as a continuous segment or section from longer content.

Unless noted in the category description, no more than three (3) excerpts may be used to bring longer content to the category’s specified time limit.

For entries representing a program series, content must be included from multiple episodes of the series. A maximum of three (3) representative excerpts is permitted. One to two seconds of black, with no audio or slates, must be added to separate excerpts.

If the awards committee determines the content of any excerpt is ineligible, the entire entry will be ruled ineligible.

Removal of a commercial break between segments does not constitute a separate excerpt.

COMPOSITES

A composite is defined as a sampling of a minimum of two (2) and no more than five (5) representative segments or examples of work that convey to a judging panel the scope, breadth, or range of an individual’s talents within the specified craft category.

The elements within a composite, unless otherwise noted in the category description, are to be “as aired” with no post-distribution changes, such as additional edits, music or special effects. Composites may include stories or segments in their entirety and/or excerpts from longer content.

One to two seconds of black between cuts, with no audio or slates, must be added to separate segments within the composite.

DEMO REELS OR MONTAGES ARE NOT ALLOWED.

 

 

ENTRY PLACEMENT

When an entry’s content allows for a choice of category placement, the producer has the discretion to enter the material in the most appropriate content category in addition to any craft achievement categories where it is eligible.

However, certain rules must also be considered and followed:

• No entry may be submitted to more than one Emmy^® awards competition (Regional or National).

      *Exception: Regional Emmy^® recipients in the Breaking News and Investigative Report categories are eligible for submission to the National News & Documentary competition under prevailing rules.

• Different episodes from the same program or series can only be entered in one Emmy^® Awards competition.
• Entrants are not allowed to separate content from individual craft achievement and submit in multiple Emmy^® Awards competitions.
• If the Chapter deems content ineligible, craft submissions related to that content would also be ineligible.
• The first distribution of the entry is the primary determination of eligibility.

The Chapter reserves the right to disqualify outright or move any entry to a different category if in its judgment such action is warranted. Entries will not be accepted if no applicable category is found.

DOUBLE-DIPPING:  No single entry may be submitted in its entirety in more than one programming category.  Exceptions are given for content that was part of a full newscast or included as an excerpt in the “Overall Excellence,” “News Excellence,” “Community Service,” and “Journalistic Enterprise” categories. To be eligible for this exception in the newscast categories, the same entrant cannot be listed on the newscast entry and then use the same material and enter in another programming category.

 

If you enter a full program or episode from a series in a programming category, you cannot also enter a segment from the same show in another program category.

 

Content produced as both a multi-part series and a full-length program may be entered only once, regardless of the amount of new material added.

 

A single or multi episode full-length program, or a multi-part news series, all on the same subject, may only be entered in only one programming category. If the subject matter varies, different episodes from the same overall program series can be entered in other program categories as appropriate based on content.  This exception rule does not apply to individual stories from news series.

 

An individual can only be recognized once for the same job function, utilizing the same program content.

 

Craft persons, like writers, photographers, editors, etc., are allowed to enter in programming categories if they directly contributed to the content of the program or segment and have the permission of the primary producer.  If a craft person does enter as a producer in a program category, they may enter the same content again in their respective craft category.

 

LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH:  Spanish-language entries may be entered and will be judged by a panel of Spanish-speaking, peer judges in a separate contest from English language. The scores produced by these two panels are not combined; instead the scores are interpreted separately for final “cut-off” evaluation.

 

Programs in languages other than English or Spanish may also be entered; however, judging of these entries in their native language is subject to the availability of qualified, peer judges who speak the language of the entry. Therefore, NATAS requires that these entrants submit their entries with English subtitles or with English on a second audio channel.

 

WHO CAN ENTER:  Membership in The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is not required to enter the Emmy^® Awards. Management, producers, designated award directors or individual craft entrants, whether they are a NATAS member or not, may submit entries on behalf of their program, talent or craft. If submitting on behalf of another individual (s), you must fully confirm that the parties contained in the submission have complete knowledge of all eligibility rules and have viewed and given consent to the content submitted on their behalf.

 

JUDGING PROCEDURE:  Entries made to this Chapter will be judged by panels assembled by other NATAS Chapters.  These panels should be comprised of no fewer than 7 judges who shall be certified as peers.  No more than 3 judges on a panel may be employed by the same station or company. Judges may not have a conflict of interest, which is described as having a direct involvement in the production of an entry or having a personal relationship with a member of the production staff of an entry.  Group ownership, by itself, does not necessarily create a conflict of interest.

 

NON-COMPETITIVE JUDGING: Entries are judged against a standard of excellence on their own merit and do not compete against each other. Program submissions are scored using a 1-10 scale each for Content, Creativity and Execution. Talent and Crafts are evaluated using a 1-10 scale each for Creativity and Execution. There may be one award, more than one award or no award given in each category.  Any exceptions will be noted in the category description.

 

JUDGING REQUIREMENT:  The success of the Emmy^® Awards process depends on the willingness of qualified professionals to serve as judges.  Peers in other NATAS Chapters are serving this Chapter’s entrants.  This Chapter will judge other Chapter’s entries.  By entering, you agree to serve as a judge when asked.

 

All entries sent to judges for screening are deemed to be eligible by the Chapter whose work is being judged.  For that reason, judges are required to score each entry regardless if they feel it has been placed in the wrong category or might have technical problems.  Forms are available online should judges wish to challenge any entry. On challenge entries, judges are asked to score without bias, even if they believe an entry is not in an appropriate category.

 

DISCLOSURE OF JUDGING RESULTS:  In order to maintain fair, consistent peer judging without influence, judges must not disclose to others or in writing, including any social media references, as to how they have voted during an on-going, active judging session. If they ignore or abuse this privilege, their ballot will be disqualified and/or their judging status eliminated.

 

INTENTIONAL FALSIFICATION:  The entrant warrants that he/she/they are the party(ies) most responsible for the award-worthiness of the entry.  The intentional falsification of production credits or entry credits may be the basis for disqualification.

 

ENTRY ERRORS AND OMISSIONS: The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences assumes no responsibility for the acts or omissions of those individuals or entities submitting entries pursuant to this notice.  All submitting entities and/or individuals are advised to review submissions with respect to correct name credits and other information.  NATAS shall accept all submissions that are not in conflict with any of its rules and regulations.

 

COPYRIGHT:  Each entrant agrees that any form of analog and/or digital recording, whether it be film, tape recording, screenshot or supplemental printed material that is furnished to NATAS in connection with an entry may be retained by the National Academy for file, reference and archival purposes and may be viewed partially or in its entirety for judging purposes. All of, or portions of, said content may be used on or in connection with the awards ceremony, any broadcast/telecast and other exhibition, including internet; as well as with promotional announcements or activities for any of the foregoing. If required, the entrant is further responsible for approval and clearances to the appropriate parties for any use of this copyright content.

 

WHO RECEIVES THE AWARD?   Producers, craft persons and other eligible entrants as listed on the entry form receive the Emmy^® statuette, except where noted.  To be eligible, each entrant must have significant, creative involvement in the actual production. Pre and post production involvement, including proposal/grant writing, research, fundraising, producing partnerships, etc., though necessary and of major importance is not substantial enough to be considered. They must verify in writing their “hands on” involvement in order to be listed on the entry.

 

Once a Chapter’s award nominations are announced, there is a 10-calendar day only grace period in which names, under extreme, special circumstances, can be added to a nominated entry. These requests must be authorized in writing to the Chapter from one of the original entry nominees requesting this addition and detailing why this request should be granted. The Chapter’s Awards Committee will make the final decision and ruling.

 

Further, once the Emmy® awards ceremony has concluded, NO individual names can be added to an awarded entry as an additional recipient, under any circumstances.

 

CRAFTS ACHIEVEMENT: In the Crafts Achievement Awards, those who actually perform a specific discipline receive the Emmy^® statuette.  Supervising or directing the work of others does not qualify for Crafts Achievement Awards, except for achievements in directing categories.

 

AWARD RECIPIENTS:   Emmy^® Awards are presented to individuals, not to their employers.  It is the individual entrant’s achievement that is being judged and recognized, even if an employer pays entry fees.

 

COMMEMORATIVE STATUETTES:  As a courtesy, stations, studios and production companies may order a commemorative statuette for public display at their place of business (up to a maximum of three per awarded entry). The statuette is engraved the same as the actual Emmy^® Award, with the word “commemorative” added.  Neither the organization’s name nor any other special wording may be engraved in place of where the individual’s name and position would usually appear. Commemorative Emmy® statuettes cannot be ordered for individuals.

 

PROMOTION:  All publicity, advertising or any written reference undertaken by nominees and award recipients to the Emmy^® Awards, must clearly state that the awarded achievement is for a Regional Emmy^® Award. The word “Regional” must appear in these instances. The recipient of a nomination or an Emmy^® Award may refer in advertising and publicity to the fact that they have been honored only for one year after the recognition was bestowed. They may use a replica of the Emmy^® statuette in such advertising. Individuals who significantly contributed to the production or craft but were not honored with a statuette cannot specifically advertise they are an Emmy^® award recipient. They can only state they worked on the recognized program.

 

RULES FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE EMMY® STATUETTE:
The Emmy® statue is the property of and all rights are reserved by The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Television Academy). The Emmy® statuette may not be reproduced or used in any commercial manner unless otherwise permitted by the National Academy, it being understood that possession of the same is solely for the benefit of the recipient and the recipient’s heirs or successors in interest. If a recipient or the recipient’s heir or successor in interest proposes to sell, loan, donate  or otherwise dispose of the Emmy® statuette, such persons shall be obligated to return the statuette to The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences which will retain the same in storage in memory of the recipient.

 

A ® registration mark and the appropriate copyright notice: © NATAS/Television Academy must accompany any portrayal of the Emmy^® statuette or moniker.

 

Please click here to view our Emmy^® Usage Policy