German Television Industry Planning Emmy-Style Awards for October 2013

COLOGNE, Germany - Germany's television industry celebrates itself tonight with the 13th annual German Television Awards, the country's nearest equivalent to the Emmys. But the country's small screen creatives have laid out a timetable for an alternative prize that will launch next year and, unlike the current TV Awards, is a near copy of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences honors.

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The alternative television prize is the brainchild of German's Television Academy, a neophyte group set up in December 2010 and made up of 500 professionals from the German TV industry. The Academy said it will host its own TV awards starting in October 2013. Like the Emmys, the nominees and winners will be voted on by Academy members.

The current German Television Awards are chosen by a small jury of journalists and industry professionals. The awards are sponsored by the big four German networks: ARD, ZDF, RTL and Sat.1. Critics complain the awards honor mainstream success, not creative excellence. The Academy says their new TV awards will solely reward creative achievement.

The Academy will announce the nominations for the new TV prize on August 2, 2013.