Tired of seeing Matthew Weiner make Emmy acceptance speeches for Mad Men? Well, if the major television networks have their way, you might not have to worry about that anymore. Oh sure, the networks are only talking to the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences about creating a second Emmy telecast that would banish the cable-heavy categories (mini-series and TV movie) to cable. But that slippery slope could lead to one possibly game-changing destination: The CableACE Awards.
Despite the good-time nature of the Emmy Awards on Sunday night, ratings were only up a smidgen from last year. Part of the problem can easily be laid at the feet of the HBO-dominated portion of the telecast, which found the stars of Temple Grandin, The Pacific and You Don't Know Jack leading a conga-line up to the stage like the Emmys were some Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce Christmas party.
On the face of it, offloading these particular awards to a cable outlet -- which, apparently, would be offered free for the evening to cable subscribers -- does seem like the best course of action. It would open the telecast up for other awards people might actually care about (Outstanding Guest Actor and Actress, for instance), while keeping the focus on the networks. This would please network executives as well: In "off-the-record conversations" with THR, they have complained about airing an awards show "that is mostly a huge promotional postcard for HBO and cable."
Of course, therein lies the rub: The Emmys themselves have become a "huge promotional postcard for HBO and cable." This year, four of the eight main acting trophies were given to cable stars, while Mad Men won Best Drama for a third straight year. Toss in the writing award for Matthew Weiner, the directing award bestowed upon Dexter and even Top Chef's selection as top reality program, and you've got a ceremony that was dominated by cable. If network executives are worried about the middle portion of the show being a commercial for their cable competitors, why aren't they worried about the other parts, too? Well, they probably are -- they're just not saying so.
For now though, let's just take everyone at their word. An additional Emmy broadcast on cable would allow for both better network ratings (a specious argument at best, but sure) and higher revenues for the ATAS. Everyone wins! Because of that, expect this to happen eventually. When season four of Mad Men gets ghettoized to the "Cable Emmys," however, just don't say I didn't warn you.