Take a moment to think about just how many unique things can go wrong at an in-person production of the Emmys (or any other major awards show). Now take a moment to take in how many times that number multiplies when you factor in hundreds of different live streams feeding into your singular event throughout the course of the night. Boom: The 72nd Emmy Awards.
For those who have been wondering just how this digital version of the awards will go, Variety has reported that 130 video kits have been shipped to 130 nominees across 10 countries. Provided those kits make it to the nominees safely to begin with, everyone involved will have to hope that there's no hardware issues with anything. After that? Well, let's just hope someone's WiFi doesn't take the evening off!
Let's be clear here: this event could absolutely go off without a hitch! It's the fact that it's live that will introduce so many unique challenges. Even the widely successful DC FanDome experience recently put on by Warner Brothers was largely pre-recorded with a ton of additional production value tossed in. Executive Producer Ian Stewart weighed in on some of the unique challenges they face during a press conference.
“If there are 130 live feeds coming in, it’s like 130 sports matches at the same time. You have so many things coming in. Get your head around that fact. Each one of those is coming from people’s homes, hotels and backyards. They’re not wired for a sports match, they’re wired to have your dinner."
Later on in the press conference in question, Stewart and fellow executive producer Reginald Hudlin fully acknowledged the risks to what they're doing. “There’s a tremendous amount of risk in what we’re doing,” Hudlin commented.
