Paley Awards to face off against Emmys?

2:17 PM PDT 10/14/2010 by Lindsay Powers, AP

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Group announces first-ever televised show for 2012

The Paley Center for Media will televise an awards show in May 2012.

The news comes as the Primetime Emmy Awards begin negotiating for a new network home next year, and The Hollywood Reporter's story that major TV networks have approached the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences to split the three-hour broadcast into two separate shows. Although Jimmy Fallon's debut earlier this month was watched by 13 million viewers, ratings have fallen by a third since 2002.

Said Steve Mosko, the president of Sony Pictures Television who also serves on the Paley Center's television awards planning committee, "We have already received considerable interest from television networks and advertisers, and now that we have announced the time and location of our first show we will begin right away to translate this interest into substantive discussions."

The show will air from New York City during television upfronts.

"The networks, advertisers and much of the top talent will already be in New York at that time and this venue should make it easier for top talent and industry leaders to participate in the show," said Tony Vinciquerra, chairman and CEO of the Fox Networks Group, who also serves on the committee.

Frank A. Bennack, Jr., chairman of the Paley Center, explained the decision to air the awards show: "The Paley Center has considerable curatorial expertise and occupies a unique position at the intersection between the industry and the viewing public. Our goal is to put our own distinctive stamp on honoring the great work being done by so many in the media community."