TV Academy NATAS reunification talks begin after board votes
The two Emmy organizations are exploring a reunion nearly 50 years after their split, with no deadline set for the talks.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
3 min read
The TV Academy NATAS reunification question is back on the table nearly half a century after the two Emmy-awarding organizations split, according to Deadline.
The Television Academy, formerly known as ATAS, and the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences have opened exploratory discussions about becoming one organization again after what Deadline described as overwhelming votes by both boards.
No end date has been set for the talks, according to the report. Because the discussions are still underway, the Television Academy Board voted to extend the terms of all current sitting governors by one year so they can remain in place through the process.
Representatives for NATAS and the TV Academy said in a joint statement that television remains a powerful cultural force across screen sizes. They said the industry’s transformation makes this the right time to examine whether reuniting the academies could give members and the business “a bolder voice” and a stronger partner for the future.
What would TV Academy NATAS reunification mean?
A reunion would bring together two groups that hand out Emmy Awards across different parts of the television business. Deadline noted that the academies have long been divided largely around primetime and daytime programming.
The move would echo the merger of SAG and AFTRA, Deadline reported, since those performers’ unions also once represented members tied to different day parts before combining.
For Emmy watchers, the talks point to a potential reshaping of the institutions behind television’s most recognized awards. For members, the academies’ joint statement framed the discussions as a way to strengthen industry advocacy at a time when television is changing quickly.
Why did the TV Academy and NATAS split?
The organizations separated on June 30, 1977, according to Deadline, beginning a long stretch of strained relations. The current talks come almost 50 years after that break.
Relations began to thaw in 2004, when the TV Academy and NATAS reached an agreement that shifted the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences from NATAS to then-ATAS, moved the Los Angeles Chapter from ATAS to NATAS and ended all litigation between them, Deadline reported.
Cooperation continued in 2022, when game shows were moved from NATAS jurisdiction to the TV Academy’s Primetime Emmys competition, according to Deadline’s reporting at the time.
The new discussions do not guarantee a merger. The formal process, structure and timing have not been announced, and Deadline reported that there is no formal date or deadline for the conversations to conclude.
For now, the headline is simple: the two academies that define much of the Emmy universe are talking again, and their boards have already voted to let those talks begin.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.