ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox are headed to the Television Academy’s Hall of Fame.
The TV Academy plans to honor the four broadcast nets with a “Cornerstone Award” in recognition of their roles in TV history. The presentation will be made at the Academy’s 70th anniversary gala, the opening of the new Saban Media Center, which will be held on June 2.
Scheduled to accept the awards at the June event on behalf of the networks are: Disney/ABC president Ben Sherwood; former CBS entertainment chair and TV Academy Foundation board member Nina Tassler; Fox chair and CEO Peter Rice; and NBC entertainment chair Robert Greenblatt.
The TV Academy’s Hall of Fame, which was founded in 1984 by recognize those who have “helped shape the most important and influential medium of our time, whether doing so in front of the camera or behind the lens,” has previously only honored individuals, including Lucille Ball, Norman Lear, Johnny Carson, and Barbara Walters. The networks will be the only television institutions ever to be inducted.
“Without the stalwart courage, passion and creativity of countless visionaries at each of these four networks, this magical thing called television would have never evolved and the extraordinary innovations and possibilities that the future holds for our industry would never become reality,” said TV Academy chair and CEO Bruce Rosenblum.
The invitation-only June 2 gala will also feature a gathering of television’s biggest stars for a “class photo” representing memorable past and current personalities and moments.
“Because of these iconic players, television has enjoyed decades of exceptional creativity and business success,” said WME’s Rick Rosen, chair of the Academy’s Hall of Fame committee. “Looking forward, each will clearly continue to be a material part of a magnificent new golden age that is just beginning.”
Guests at the June 2 gala will receive the first look at the expansion of the Academy’s new home, the result of a $40 million capital campaign. The new Saban Media Center includes a state-of-the-art 600 seat theater, along with production spaces that will facilitate digital content featuring industry professionals and Academy events for global distribution, office space for the Television Academy’s philanthropic foundation, as well as a conference center for symposiums and industry gatherings.
