Television Academy Announces $40 Million Fundraising Campaign, New Name

The group that hands out the Primetime Emmys has a new name along with big plans for a $40 million fundraising campaign.

After nearly 68 years as the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the nonprofit organization has changed its name to simply the Television Academy and is rebranding as part of a “New Look — New Vision — New Destination” campaign.

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Even the Emmy is getting a fashion makeover as part of the lead-up to the academy’s 70th anniversary in 2016.

“This overarching campaign includes a complete rebranding of the organization, a significant expansion of the endowment supporting the academy’s philanthropic efforts and a massive new construction project for its NoHo Arts District campus in the San Fernando Valley,” the organization said Tuesday.

“This is the most important and pivotal year in our organization’s history,” said president and CEO Bruce Rosenblum. “The academy is expanding, innovating and evolving alongside the dramatic changes in our industry. The quality of storytelling in television has never been better, and the ability of our global audience to experience those stories in personal ways has been permanently enhanced by the creativity of our members and technology advances within our industry.”

Added Rosenblum, who is now in his second term at the organization: “The academy and our 18,000 members intend to lead the industry into a new Golden Age that we believe is just beginning and is extremely exciting.”

Plans include research studies, scholarship programs, intern programs, an expansion of the Academy Foundation’s philanthropic efforts and an expansion of the campus in North Hollywood.

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To achieve all this, Rosenblum will announce a $40 million fundraising campaign when the annual TV Hall of Fame honors are presented Tuesday night. Some of that will be used to build an endowment for the group.

“The ground-up construction of a new, state-of-the-art multipurpose theater and digital production capacity media center will provide a home for the television industry to showcase its works to the academy’s members, the industry and the general public while enabling production of digital content featuring television professionals that can be distributed across the country and around the world,” according to the Academy’s announcement.

The brand strategy firm Siegel+Gale is working with the Television Academy on new versions of the academy logo, and the Emmy statuette will get a “more contemporary look.”