Could peace finally be in the offing between the two rival TV academies?
A New York judge has upheld December's arbitration ruling in favor of the Los Angeles-based TV Academy against its New York counterpart, effectively ending last year's bitter battle between the two sides.
Los Angeles' Academy of TV Arts & Sciences -- which awards the Primetime Emmys -- had accused Gotham's National Academy of TV Arts & Sciences of attempting to establish a new Broadband Emmy infrastructure without permission.
The American Arbitration Assn. halted those plans, agreeing with ATAS that NATAS -- which hands out Daytime, News and Sports Emmys, among other categories -- had violated terms of the 1977 divorce between the West and East Coast acads.
Balking at that ruling, NATAS filed a petition with the New York State Supreme Court in December, asking that the ruling be set aside on the grounds that the arbitrators had exceeded their authority. The arbitrators had announced which acad held jurisdiction by genre, rather than by daypart -- and NATAS took issue.
But the judge, in a 19-page opinion on Monday, said the arbitration panel's findings were final, with one exception. Both NATAS and ATAS continue to hammer out a proposal to launch a Spanish-language Emmy Award -- an issue that hasn't yet been settled.
"We are gratified that the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is unanimously victorious in a very fair and accurate arbitration, and that we can continue our vision to preserve the Emmy brand," ATAS said in a statement.
ATAS attorney George Hedges said the court "has dealt NATAS a devastating blow" and that "NATAS must now immediately get into compliance with the arbitration panel's decision or face potential contempt proceedings."
The Los Angeles org will also seek an order demanding the attorney's fees it spent in the battle with NATAS.
NATAS topper Peter Price said his org was already abiding by the ruling's findings.
"We've been basically living by that arbitration result, and we'll continue to abide by it," he said.
As a result, NATAS has been forced to back off plans to award Broadband Emmys in categories such as comedy or drama and scrap a previously announced deal with MySpace to hand out awards.
NATAS was also told it couldn't present the Engineering and Technology Emmys at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. ATAS maintained the arbitration ruling said that neither side can hold Emmy ceremonies beyond the established Primetime Emmy Awards thrown by ATAS and the Daytime, News, Public Service and Sports Emmys (held by NATAS). NATAS ultimately held the kudos but gave out replacement trophies.
NATAS and ATAS can both still hand out Broadband Emmys, but only within their previously existing kudofests -- and only in the categories in which they have jurisdiction. That means NATAS can hand out Broadband Emmys in categories such as daytime sudsers, children's programs and news, while ATAS can hand out Broadband awards to primetime comedy and drama skeins.
As for the Spanish-language Emmy question, the arbitration panel had ruled that ATAS and NATAS must get back to the table and hammer out a proposal. The orgs had sketched out a kudofest plan in February 2007, but their Spanish-language talks broke down after the broadband scuffle last spring.
Now, the two sides have ironed out a plan, but with one major sticking point: NATAS believes such an Emmy category must include telenovelas, which dominate the skeds of Spanish-language nets. But most of those programs are produced outside of the U.S.; ATAS, noting that foreign productions fall under the jurisdiction of the Intl. TV Academy, would like the kudofest to stick with U.S. productions.
The TV Academy rivalry dates back several decades. A thaw in that rocky relationship had led to talks in 2005 about merging operations. Such an integration proved tougher than expected, so both sides decided instead to investigate new ways to work closely together -- including a jointly administered Broadband Emmy Awards.
But when NATAS announced plans to award up to 15 Broadband Emmys on its own, followed by the deal with MySpace, ATAS grew suspicious and filed suit against NATAS. A judge threw that suit back to arbitration, whose findings were presented on Dec. 11.
Now, Price said he hopes the two sides can move past the recent scuffle.
"In spite of the fact that I have somewhat of a controversial reputation, I'm all for the merger of the academies," Price said. "The Academy ought to be one, and if it can't be one for whatever East/West reasons that exist, they ought to collaborate closely. It makes no sense for there to be any standoff."
The litigation has ultimately been financially difficult for both acads, which have had to raid their funds to cover legal costs in the nearly yearlong battle.
"It's unfortunate we're wasting the assets that should be used for good work," Price said. "I hope we can heal and get on with the business of recognizing television."
Contact Michael Schneider at
mike.schneider@variety.com