Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

42nd Sports Emmy Nominations: ESPN Tops Among the Networks, Super Bowl LV Leads All Programs

20/04/2021

42nd Sports Emmy Nominations: ESPN Tops Among the Networks, Super Bowl LV Leads All Programs By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor

Tuesday, April 20, 2021 - 4:21 pm

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

In a year of sports production unlike any other, ESPN led all network groups with 54 nominations, and CBS Sports' presentation of Super Bowl LV topped all individual programs with 11 nods in the 42nd Annual Sports Emmy Awards nominations. The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) unveiled the nominees today, and the ceremony will be live-streamed at Watch.TheEmmys.TV on June 8 at 8 p.m. ET.

ESPN's 54 nods were the most of any network group, followed by Fox Sports (with 31), NFL Media (28), NBC Sports Group (25), CBS Sports (24), Turner Sports (20), HBO (13), MLB Network (10), Netflix (9), RBTV and Univision (5 each), and YouTube, Apple TV , and Showtime (3 each).

CBS's Super Bowl LV earned the most nominations of any program, while NFL Network's NFL 360 had a breakout year with nine nods and ESPN's E:60 had seven. Four nominations apiece went to Fos NASCAR, Fox NFL Sunday, NFL Network's NFL Total Access, HBO's Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel, Netflix's Rising Phoenix, and ESPN's SC Featured. Turner's 2020 NBA All-Star Game on TNT, Fox NFL, Apple TV 's Greatness Code, Turner's Inside the NBA, MLB Network's MLB Tonight, RBTV's The Old World - A Mindtrip Through Europe, and ESPN's The Undefeated Presents each earned three nominations.

Today, we honor the talented professionals who, during this unprecedented time of a worldwide pandemic, still found ways to inform, entertain, and excite the passionate fan base that makes up the sports universe, said NATAS President/CEO Adam Sharp in the announcement. The challenges they have overcome and this inspiring and diverse set of nominees are nothing short of remarkable.

In a year when sports production literally ground to a halt, added Justine Gubar, executive director, Sports Emmy Awards, NATAS, we received a record number of submissions. From innovative solutions to the constraints of production during the pandemic to the superb storytelling that confronted the social-justice issues of our times, we are so proud of what our nominees were able to achieve. I'm particularly excited about the debut of our Outstanding Sports Personality - Emerging On-Air Talent category, which welcomes five new sports personalities into the Emmy-nominee family.

On the technology side, the George Wensel Technical Achievement Award will go to one of the five nominees: Fox NASCAR's Racing Drone, Fox NFL's Megalodon, MLB Network Showcase's Statcast 3D, MLB Postseason on TBS's Base Cam, or NBC's HDR LUTs on Notre Dame Football.

In the Outstanding Technical Team Event category, CBS earned nominations for its Masters and Super Bowl LV coverage, ESPN was nominated for its College Football Playoff National Championship, Fox for its NASCAR coverage, and ESPN/TNT/NBA for the NBA Bubble operation.

On the Outstanding Technical Team Studio side, nods went to the 2020 NFL Draft by ESPN/ABC/NFL Network, ESPN's College GameDay, Fox's NASCAR coverage, MLB Network's MLB Tonight, and The Super Bowl Today on CBS.

Also of note in the live-event categories, Outstanding Live Event Audio/Sound nominations went to NBC's NASCAR coverage and Sunday Night Football, Fox MLB, The NFL on CBS, and ESPN's US Open tennis coverage. In addition, the award for Outstanding Live Graphic Design will g to one of the following: ESPN's College Football, Fox NFL, MLB Networks' MLB Tonight (Welcome Home), Nickelodeon/CBS's NFC Wild Card Game, or CBS's Super Bowl LV.

Here is a full list of the nominees:

OUTSTANDING LIVE SPORTS SPECIAL

2020 NBA All-Star Game on TNT - TNT

The 116th World Series (Tampa Bay Rays vs. Los Angeles Dodgers) - FOX

The 146th Kentucky Derby - NBC

The Match on TNT, Champions for Charity - TNT

Super Bowl LV (Kansas City Chiefs vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers) - CBS

OUTSTANDING LIVE SPORTS SERIES

FOX NASCAR - FOX/FS1

FOX NFL - FOX/NFL Network

NFL on CBS - CBS

PGA Tour on CBS - CBS

Sunday Night Football - NBC

OUTSTANDING PLAYOFF COVERAGE

2020 NBA Playoffs on TNT - TNT

AFC Playoffs - CBS

NASCAR Playoffs on NBC - NBC/NBCSN

NFC Wild Card Game (Chicago Bears vs. New Orleans Saints) - Nickelodeon/CBS Sports

Sunday Night Football: Playoffs - NBC/Peacock

OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL TEAM EVENT

College Football Playoff National Championship (Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Alabama Crimson Tide) - ESPN

FOX NASCAR - FOX/FS1

The Masters - CBS

NBA Bubble - ESPN/TNT/NBA

Super Bowl LV (Kansas City Chiefs vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers) - CBS

OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL TEAM STUDIO

2020 NFL Draft - ESPN/ABC/NFL Network

College GameDay - ESPN

FOX NASCAR - FOX/FS1

MLB Tonight - MLB Network

The Super Bowl Today - CBS

THE GEORGE WENSEL TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

FOX NASCAR, The Racing Drone - FOX/FS1

FOX NFL, Megalodon - FOX

MLB Network Showcase, Statcast 3D - MLB Network

MLB Postseason on TBS, Base Cam - TBS

Notre Dame Football, NBC HDR LUTs - NBC

OUTSTANDING EDITED SPORTS EVENT COVERAGE

America's Game: The 2019 Kansas City Chiefs - NFL Network/NFL Films

Hey Rookie: Welcome To The NFL: 2020 NFL Draft - ESPN/NFL Films

NFL Game Day All-Access, Super Bowl LV - NFL Network/NFL Films

NHL on NBC, WIRED: Stadium Series - Los Angeles Kings vs. Colorado Avalanche - NBCSN

UFC The Walk, McGregor vs. Cowboy - UFC Fight Pass/UFC

OUTSTANDING EDITED SPORTS SPECIAL

Inside the NBA, Kobe Bryant Memorial - TNT

NFL 360, Black History Month - NFL Network

NFL 360, Women in Football - NFL Network

SC Presents: 2020 - Heroes, History and Hope - ESPN

The Undefeated Presents, The Stop - Living, Driving and Dying While Black - ESPN

OUTSTANDING EDITED S
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2021/04/20/42nd-sports-emmy-nominations-es...
See more stories from svg

North America Stories

21/02/2026

OBS CTO Sotiris Salamouris on the Legacy of the 2026 Winter Games

With Software Defined Broadcasting more established in Milan Cortina look for Los Angeles 2028 to have less hardware and more cloud-based software systems...

21/02/2026

Invisible String: NBC Olympics' Marsha Bird on the Hidden Work That Makes the Games Shine

The SVP of Olympic Operations on turning CAD drawings into reality, building tru...

21/02/2026

NAB Urges FCC to Tamp Down Reallocation Plans for Upper C-Band

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/02/2026

Chyron Paint 10.3 Adds New Visualization Features for Live Action

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/02/2026

Netflix Unveils the Trailer of Accused', A Psychological Drama on Power, Perception and Public Judgment

Back to All News Netflix Unveils the Trailer of Accused', A Psychological ...

20/02/2026

Gravity Media, Green Couch Entertainment Partner to Create Original Programming for International Broadcasters

Gravity Media and Los Angeles-based Green Couch Entertainment announce a strateg...

20/02/2026

IMAX, Apple TV Bring 2026 FIA Formula One World Championship Races to Selected U.S. Locations

IMAX announces it is working with Apple TV to bring the 2026 FIA Formula One Wor...

20/02/2026

Big Upgrade to Spring Training Experience With New Daktronics Displays at Phillies' BayCare Ballpark

Daktronics has partnered with the Philadelphia Phillies to design, manufacture, ...

20/02/2026

ESPN To Launch Women's Sports Sundays, a New Summer Weekly Primetime Franchise

ESPN announces the upcoming launch of Women's Sports Sundays - a first-of-it...

20/02/2026

Sennheiser Spectera Handheld Makes Broadcast Debut at Super Bowl LX

As the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots faced off in the NFL's biggest sporting event of the season on Sun., Feb. 8, Sennheiser wireless solutions ...

20/02/2026

ESPN To Stream More MLB Spring Training Games Than Ever in 2026

ESPN announces its 2026 Major League Baseball spring training schedule, which includes four national games on ESPN, six games on ESPN Unlimited, and more than 2...

20/02/2026

Open Broadcast Systems Launches 200 Gigabit Ethernet

Open Broadcast Systems, which specializes in software-based professional video transport, has added support for 200 Gigabit Ethernet to its range of encoders an...

20/02/2026

Chyron PAINT 10.3 Adds New Ways To Visualize Live Sports

Chyron announces the release of PAINT 10.3, which is designed to help analysts and operators turn live action into clearer, faster on-air storytelling. PAINT ...

20/02/2026

Live Spring Training Games Begin Feb. 20 on MLB Network With Yankees Against Orioles

With full squad workouts underway, MLB Network's live Spring Training game s...

20/02/2026

MLS Kickoff 2026: As FIFA Men's World Cup Looms, League's Media Operations and Apple TV Aim To Enhance Viewing Experience

Tech enhancements, marquee productions are expected to take advantage of a summe...

20/02/2026

SVG GameDay, Ep. 4: Temple Athletics' Paige Wisehaupt - Driving Digital Content for the Cherry & White

In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...

20/02/2026

BBC Sport's Focus on Clips, Social Media and a Highlights-Free Games

Speaking with SVG Europe after one of Team GB's greatest days at a Winter Olympics, BBC Sport's head of major events, Ron Chakraborty, explains the broa...

20/02/2026

Warner Bros. Discovery on Making Olympic Magic for Multiple Local Markets From Its Studios in Cortina and Livigno

Making Winter Games Olympic magic is the goal for every broadcaster in Italy cov...

20/02/2026

OBS Curling Directors Brie Robertson and Susan Young Talk Olympic Experiences and Keeping the Story Going with the Lights Out

Curling, one of the least-dangerous Winter Olympic sports, is dominating the Mil...

20/02/2026

How Digital First' Goals Are Bringing Together Linear and Online Editorial for BBC Sport Coverage at the Winter Olympics

BBC Sport's presence at the 2026 Winter Games is centred around a significan...

20/02/2026

Pinning Digital Content Onto the Backbone of a Strong Linear Infrastructure for BBC Sport in Cortina

BBC Sport is bringing together its linear TV and streaming digital arms in a str...

20/02/2026

BBC Sport Talks Influencers and Athletes in its Bid to Pivot to a Digital First' Strategy for the Games

To broaden the appeal of winter sports at Milano Cortina, the BBC has integrated...

20/02/2026

DIRECTV Adds Apple TV's Formula 1 Racing for Residential and DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS Customers

Just in time for the start of Apple TV's inaugural season as the exclusive U...

20/02/2026

NBC Olympics VP Creative David Barton Dives into Milano-Cortina 2026 Graphics Package, Now You Know' Animations

One big challenge was to depict the character of each of very different and wide...

20/02/2026

By Design Director Asks Festival Audience to Flirt With Their Chairs at Premiere

(L-R) Writer-director Amanda Kramer photographs the photographers at the premiere of her film By Design at the Library Center Theatre in Park City. (Photo by ...

20/02/2026

Super Bowl LX Delivers 125.6 Million Viewers

NEW YORK - February 10, 2026 - An estimated 125.6* million viewers watched Super Bowl LX on Sunday, February 8, according to Nielsen's Big Data Panel meas...

20/02/2026

Nielsen: Super Bowl LX Final Viewership Rises to 125.6 Million Viewers with Verified Big Data

NEW YORK - February 19, 2026 - Nielsen today shared updated and final Super Bowl...

20/02/2026

NHPBS Taps Heartland Video Systems for ATSC 3.0 Launch

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/02/2026

Lightware and Cisco interoperability brings AV system suc...

A leading global investment bank, with offices at Two International Finance Centre in Hong Kong, partnered with systems integrators Global Vision Engineering (G...

20/02/2026

Rise AV and Rise Broadcast unite for International Womens...

Rise AV and Rise Broadcast, the global not-for-profit organisations dedicated to improving gender diversity across technical industries, have today announced a ...

20/02/2026

Open Broadcast Systems launches Two Hundred Gigabit Ether...

Open Broadcast Systems, the leader in software-based professional video transport, has added support for 200 Gigabit Ethernet to its range of encoders and decod...

20/02/2026

Signiant Launches Customer Advisory Board to Help Shape t...

Signiant today announced the formation of its Customer Advisory Board (CAB), bringing together a select group of customers to collaborate on product strategy, r...

20/02/2026

PTZOptics launches its Visual Reasoning initiative and pa...

PTZOptics today announced the launch of its Visual Reasoning initiative that makes video more actionable by combining robotic PTZ camera systems, AI, and open i...

20/02/2026

DELTA and Amino Complete Certification of Amigo 7N Androi...

Amino, a global media technology provider delivering devices, software and cloud services that simplify and elevate video delivery, today announced the successf...

20/02/2026

SMPTE Opens Call for Papers for 2026 Media Technology Sum...

SMPTE , the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, today announced its call for technical papers for the SMPTE 2026 Media Technology Summit....

20/02/2026

Granicus Standardizes Hybrid Government-Grade Video Infra...

Wowza Media Systems today announced that Granicus, a leading provider of digital engagement solutions for governments, continues to rely on Wowza to power its h...

20/02/2026

CBS Baltimore Launches New AR/VR Studio

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/02/2026

IAB Tech Lab Opens Public Comment on Live Event Ad Playbook

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/02/2026

Study: Sports Programming on Major Streamers Up 52% YoY

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/02/2026

ESPN to launch Women's Sports Sundays

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/02/2026

Tegna, Seattle Kraken Extend Broadcast Deal

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/02/2026

Signiant Announces Customer Advisory Board

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/02/2026

A Friend, A Murderer' Launches on Netflix on March 5, 2026

Back to All News A Friend, A Murderer' Launches on Netflix on March 5, 2026 Main image Entertainment 20 February 2026 GlobalDenmark Link copied to cl...

19/02/2026

CBC Navigates Multi-Zone Winter Olympics With Bilingual Production, Remote Studios, Custom Content Hubs

The Canadian rightsholder deploys its most complex' Olympics setup an ever,...

19/02/2026

Suite Studios Announces S3 Native File Streaming for Real-Time Media Workflows at Petabyte Scale

Suite Studios, a cloud-native platform that connects creative teams to their med...

19/02/2026

Guitar Center Named Official Music Gear Retailer and AV Integrator for Tennessee Titans' New Nissan Stadium

Guitar Center and the Tennessee Titans announce a first-of-its-kind partnership ...

19/02/2026

DAZN, Matchroom Boxing Sign Five-Year Deal to Extend Long-Standing Partnership

DAZN is reinforcing its leadership in global boxing through a new five-year deal with Matchroom Boxing in the United States and the United Kingdom. The deal ext...

19/02/2026

PTZOptics Launches Visual Reasoning Initiative, Partners with Moondream to Automate Video Decision-Making

PTZOptics announces the launch of its visual reasoning initiative that makes vid...

19/02/2026

The Influencer Games? OBS Bakes Digital-Native Content Creators - and Athletes - Into Milano Cortina

Influencer Positions, AI-driven vertical video, and platform-native creators res...