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AOL tops little guys for first 'iPod Emmy'

AOL's online coverage of the Live 8 concerts wins the inaugural Emmy for shows made for nontelevision outlets. Its competition: two guys goofing off in their spare time.

By CHASE SQUIRES
Published April 25, 2006

Saturday night wasn't Jerry Time at the Emmys. It was AOL time.

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences gave out the first Emmy Award that night for shows made for devices other than television, such as the Internet, iPods and cell phones.

In its first year, the so-called iPod Emmy had no subcategories. So corporate giant America Online's big-budget coverage of the global Live 8 concerts was against Fox television's cell phone version o f 24 , an Internet game that incorporated video clues and text, MTV's college-themed MTVU Web site, and the delightfully clever online video It's Jerry Time , produced on a tiny budget by two guys in their spare time.

Hardly a fair matchup, but that brothers Jerry and Orrin Zucker got nominated in the same pool as Live 8 showed how the Internet is democratizing television.

In a telephone interview Monday, Orrin Zucker said he wasn't disappointed to lose (but he did have an acceptance speech ready just in case). The brothers can forever say they got an Emmy nomination, they got into the $350-a-plate dinner for free, hobnobbed with industry insiders, ate quiche and wore tuxedoes.

"The highlight for me was when we did the paparazzi thing when you arrive," Zucker said. "They have a bank of photographers there, and they're all taking your picture, and I'm thinking, "What the heck am I doing here?"'

AOL's Live 8 coverage in July was certainly a solid choice, as much for highlighting the capability of Internet TV as for the actual concert broadcasts. The Webcast let viewers watch any of the 10 concerts going on around the world. It was streamed live, registering 5-million visits. And while old-guard MTV and VH1 struggled to cut down the event to fit TV, AOL delivered every moment.

AOL and its viewers proved that the Internet is a viable delivery platform. Three months later, ABC partnered with Apple to sell downloadable episodes of Desperate Housewives at iTunes. Other networks followed, and the revolution was on.

The next step could be for networks and advertisers to understand that with the capability to deliver video on the Internet, independent producers are offering a wave of choices, and new competition. Jerry Time, for example, is the product of two people, yet the quality of the episodes holds up against any sitcom the networks have produced in the past year.

Peter Price, president of the television academy, said the inaugural nontraditional platform judging led to tight competition, with the six finalists finishing within tenths of a point of each other.

"Going into this, our concern was, "Is there enough quality material out there, or are we simply going to end up trolling for seaweed?"' Price said. "Surprisingly, (the judges) felt the preponderance of the entries was quite well done."

--The Zucker brothers have posted pictures of Jerry at their Web site, www.itsjerrytime.com. Chase Squires can be reached at 727 893-8739 or Squires@sptimes.com His blog is at www.sptimes.com/blogs/tv.

[Last modified April 25, 2006, 11:58:50]