LOS ANGELES, Aug. 13 (UPI) -- Officials of the Emmy Awards and CBS have reversed field, saying all 28 Emmys would be presented live during the Sept. 20 telecast from Los Angeles.
Two weeks ago, the 61st annual Prime Time Emmy Awards' executive producer, Don Mischer, said eight of the prime time Emmy Awards would be featured in taped segments that included reading of the nominees and acceptance speeches by the winners, prompting a furor, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
The eight categories that weren't to go live were miniseries, movie, movie/miniseries supporting actor and actress, movie/miniseries directing, movie/miniseries writing, drama series writing and variety directing. Most of the shows in the categories were aired on cable movie broadcaster HBO, where officials expressed anger at the decision.
The Directors Guild of America demanded the TV academy reverse its decision or be found to be in "material breach" of an agreement that stipulated all prime time Emmy Awards presented to directors be part of the live ceremony. The East and West Coast branches of the Writers Guild of America also protested, threatening to withhold the Emmy's access to free TV clips to use during the telecast, the Times reported.
"This decision was made to mend relationships within the television community and to allow executive producer Don Mischer to focus his full attention on producing the creative elements in the telecast," Emmy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Shaffner said in a statement.
