“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 five.
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.
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).
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.