TNT, ESPN Lead 2021 Sports Emmys; Ernie Johnson, Joe Buck, Michele Tafoya Among Personality Wi

Publish date: 2024-04-16

“NBA on TNT” helped give the WarnerMedia-owned network a big lift over its competitors at this year’s 42nd Annual Sports Emmys. Announced late Tuesday, this year TNT won the most Sports Emmys of any single outlet, with 7 — followed closely by ESPN, which earned six.

If corporate entities are combined, then the ESPN triumvirate of ESPN, ESPN Plus and ESPN Deportes actually landed the most wins, with a total of nine.

Winners were announced in 46 categories by the National Academy of TV Arts and Sciences in a virtual ceremony on Tuesday night, including Outstanding Live Sports Special, Live Sports Series and Playoff Coverage, three Documentary categories, Outstanding Play-by-Play Announcer, Studio Host, and Emerging On-Air Talent, among others.

Individual sports personality winners included TNT’s Ernie Johnson as studio host; Fox’s Joe Buck for play-by-play, CBS’ Nate Burleson for studio analyst; Fox’s John Smoltz for sports event analyst; NBC’s Michele Tafoya for sports reporter; and Fox’s Emmanuel Acho for emerging on-air talent.

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NATAS also announced a grant to historically black colleges/universities (HBCUs) sponsored by Coca-Cola honoring a HBCU student studying for a career in sports journalism administered by the National Academy’s Foundation. And a roundtable celebrating women nominated in sports personality categories included Erin Andrews (Fox), Ana Jurka (Telemundo), Adriana Monsalve (Univision/TUDN), Rachel Nichols (ESPN), Pilar Pérez (ESPN Deportes), Lisa Salters (ESPN) and Tracy Wolfson (CBS).

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Here are winners in key categories:

OUTSTANDING LIVE SPORTS SPECIAL
2020 NBA All-Star Game on TNT (TNT)

OUTSTANDING LIVE SPORTS SERIES
Sunday Night Football (NBC)

OUTSTANDING PLAYOFF COVERAGE
NFC Wild Card Game: Chicago Bears vs. New Orleans Saints (Nickelodeon)
[CBS Sports]

OUTSTANDING EDITED SPORTS EVENT COVERAGE
NFL Game Day All-Access: Super Bowl LV (YouTube)
[NFL Films]

OUTSTANDING EDITED SPORTS SPECIAL
SC Presents: 2020 – Heroes, History and Hope (ESPN)

OUTSTANDING EDITED SPORTS SERIES
The Shop: Uninterrupted (HBO)
[Uninterrupted/Frehand]

OUTSTANDING ESPORTS COVERAGE
League of Legends World Final: DAMWON vs. Suning (YouTube)
[Riot Games]

OUTSTANDING SHORT SPORTS DOCUMENTARY
Blackfeet Boxing: Not Invisible (ESPN+/ESPN)
[ESPN Films]

OUTSTANDING LONG SPORTS DOCUMENTARY
Rising Phoenix (Netflix)
[HTYT Films/Passion Pictures/ Misfits Entertainment/Ventureland]

OUTSTANDING SERIALIZED SPORTS DOCUMENTARY
Outcry (Showtime)
[Bat Bridge Entertainment]

OUTSTANDING STUDIO SHOW – WEEKLY
Inside the NBA (TNT)

OUTSTANDING STUDIO SHOW – DAILY
SportsCenter (ESPN)

OUTSTANDING STUDIO SHOW – LIMITED RUN
Inside the NBA: 2020 NBA Playoffs (TNT)

OUTSTANDING SPORTS NEWS/FEATURE ANTHOLOGY
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (HBO)

OUTSTANDING SPORTS JOURNALISM
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (HBO)

OUTSTANDING SHORT FEATURE
Sunday NFL Countdown: The Big Mo Show (ESPN)

OUTSTANDING LONG FEATURE
NFL 360: The Gift of Gaba (NFL Network)
[Ravens Productions]

OUTSTANDING INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCE – EVENT COVERAGE
NBA App: Season Restart (NBA Digital)

OUTSTANDING INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCE – ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING
NBA on TNT Tuesday (TNT)

OUTSTANDING DIGITAL INNOVATION
NBA on TNT (TNT)

OUTSTANDING SPORTS PERSONALITY/STUDIO HOST
Ernie Johnson (TNT)

OUTSTANDING SPORTS PERSONALITY/PLAY-BY-PLAY
Joe Buck (FOX/FS1/NFL Network)

OUTSTANDING SPORTS PERSONALITY/STUDIO ANALYST
Nate Burleson (CBS/CBS Sports Network/NFL Network)

OUTSTANDING SPORTS PERSONALITY/SPORTS EVENT ANALYST
John Smoltz (FOX/FS1/MLB Network)

OUTSTANDING SPORTS PERSONALITY/SPORTS REPORTER
Michele Tafoya (NBC)

OUTSTANDING SPORTS PERSONALITY/EMERGING ON-AIR TALENT
Emmanuel Acho (FOX/FS1)

OUTSTANDING STUDIO SHOW IN SPANISH
SportsCenter Deportes (ESPN Deportes)

OUTSTANDING ON-AIR PERSONALITY IN SPANISH
Pilar Pérez (ESPN Deportes)

The full list of winners can be found here.

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