NBC was the top winner with 12 Sports Emmy awards, ten
of them for its coverage of the Atlanta Games, at the annual
Sports Emmy Awards ceremony presented by the National
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences last night in New
York, according to Stephen Battaglio of the HOLLYWOOD
REPORTER. NBC's Olympic honors included Outstanding Live
Event Turnaround. NBC Sports President Dick Ebersol: "We
did the Olympics for the viewers. We felt the viewers were
the ultimate critics. This is icing on the cake." ESPN,
last year's top winner, picked up seven awards; TNT and Fox
with three apiece; ABC picked up two; CBS was "shut out,"
while new cable network Outdoor Life won its first Emmy in
the electronic camerapersons category for "Adventure Quest."
In individual categories, winners included NBC's Bob Costas
for Outstanding Sports Personality/Studio Host; ABC's Keith
Jackson for play-by-play work and Fox's Howie Long
recognized for his work as a Fox analyst. A Lifetime
Achievement Award was presented to ABC's Frank Gifford, and
tributes were also paid to sports TV personalities who
passed away in '96, including former ABC Sports Exec
Producer Jack O'Hara, NBC Baseball Director Harry Coyle,
ESPN's Tom Mees and former Monday Night Football Director
Chet Forte (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 4/24).
