NATAS To Honor Broadcast TV Visionary Randy Falco

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Randy Falco, renowned media executive and President and Chief Executive Officer of Univision Communications Inc. (UCI), will receive the The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS)prestigious Board of Trustees’ Award at a gala to be held on Thursday, June 4th, 2015 in New York City.

“Randy Falco has been a trailblazer in every facet of the television business he has touched,” said Chuck Dages, Chairman, NATAS. Starting with his branding of NBC as the ‘network of the Olympics,’ leading the initiative for the NBC-Universal merger, acting as Chairman and CEO of AOL as it rebranded itself and helping transform Univision from a niche broadcast network serving the Hispanic community into a global media empire, he’s done it all. Falco is a talented and highly regarded television visionary. The NATAS Board of Trustees has wisely chosen to bestow their highest honor to a leader of unquestionable accomplishments.”

Randy Falco, media executive and President and CEO of Univision Communications Inc. (UCI), will receive NATAS' prestigious Board of Trustees’ Award.

Randy Falco, media executive and President and CEO of Univision Communications Inc. (UCI), will receive NATAS’
prestigious Board of Trustees’ Award.

Falco is president and chief executive officer of Univision Communications Inc. (UCI). Under his leadership, UCI has accelerated its transformation to  the multimedia powerhouse of today. UCI has quickly expanded into a top tier multimedia company with 16 broadcast, cable and digital networks; 61 television stations; 67 radio stations; an array of online and mobile apps and products and content creation facilities in Miami, New York and Los Angeles.

Falco’s visionary rise began with the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, running NBC’s Olympic operations, a multi-billion dollar business that operated as a separate business group, as well as negotiated the contracts from 1992 through 2006 covering six Olympic game telecasts. He also branded NBC television network as the network of the Olympics. He conceived and negotiated two blockbuster deals that surprised the competition and secured exclusive coverage for five consecutive Summer and Winter Olympic Games: 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2008 that became a major profit contributor to the Company.

Falco led the initiative for the NBC-Universal merger and subsequently was named

President of the NBC Universal Television Network Group in 2004. Following the merger, Falco combined the advertising sales operations of NBCU’s broadcast and cable units – the first major media company to take that approach. He also was responsible for the group’s commercial and operational functions, including affiliate relations, cable distribution, sales and marketing and other assets, including Telemundo.

Prior to joining UCI in January 2011, Falco served as chairman and chief executive officer of AOL, Inc. from 2006 to 2009. In this role, he was responsible for setting strategy and overseeing operations as the company transitioned to an advertising-based business model.

Falco, a 2013 Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame inductee, has received several recognitions including the Frank Stanton Award in 2007, the Ballet Hispanico Gala Honor 2013, MALDEF Legacy Leader Award 2012, CableFax 100 “Above it All” 2012 and 2013, Museum of Moving Image Honor 2012 as well as several Emmys for NBC’s Olympic coverage. He has also been recognized for his work in support of children’s causes, including the Ronald McDonald House, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the creation of the first Children’s Rehabilitation Institute of Teleton USA in San Antonio, Texas.

He holds an M.B.A. in finance and a bachelor’s of science degree, also in finance, from Iona College. He received an honorary doctorate from Iona College in 2001. Falco sits on the board of the Smithsonian and Ronald McDonald House.

New Categories for 41st Pacific Southwest Emmy Awards

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The deadline to submit your online entry form for the 41st Pacific Southwest Emmy Awards is this Friday, January 30th at 9 p.m. Don’t be late. After that time, you can still submit, but there will be a $25/per entrant/per entry late fee. The final day to complete your entry form with a late fee is Friday, February 6th. You will have until Friday, February 13th to upload your video, so submitting your entry form is the greater priority.

We have added three new categories this year:

Category 21. TECHNOLOGY Single Story or Series
For excellence in coverage of technology industry stories and related subject matter. Time limit: 10 minutes. Series time limit: 15 minutes.

Category 38. LIFESTYLE Program/Special
For excellence in a program or special that deals with everyday life subjects; such as food preparation, recipes, techniques, home improvement, decoration, renovation, gardening, outdoors, crafts and/or automotive repairs. Time Limit: 30 minutes.

Category 39. TECHNOLOGY Program/Special
For excellence in a program or special that covers the technology industry and the application of this knowledge for practical results. Time Limit: 30 minutes.

When entering, keep your summary brief and to the point. When entering craft categories, don’t use the same description as the program categories. Tell the judges what you did in particular to your craft for that entry.

And the MOST important detail, pay your membership dues before submitting an entry.

Good luck to everyone, we hope to see you in June at the Emmy Awards!

NATAS Foundation’s College Scholarship Program Expands

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THE FOUNDATION OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES EXPANDS COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR 2015

NEW YORK, NY – January 26th, 2015 – The Foundation of The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and its chapters will award more than $200,000 in scholarships this year to college-bound students aspiring to careers in television.

At the national level, the awards include a new $40,000 Trustees’ Scholarship and two $10,000 scholarships honoring legendary broadcasters Mike Wallace and Jim McKay. The funds are granted to outstanding high- school seniors who intend to pursue a career in any aspect of the television industry.

“There is no better way to honor the Emmy® Award-winning excellence of broadcasting luminaries past than to recognize and foster the excellence of television’s future,” said NATAS Foundation Vice President Adam Sharp, himself a 1996 scholarship winner. “The excellence displayed over the last few years has raised the standards of the scholarship program to incredible new heights.”

This is the third year of the Mike Wallace Memorial Scholarship, funded by a five-year grant from CBS News in honor of longtime correspondent Mike Wallace (1918-2012) and presented each year at the News & Documentary Emmy Awards. The Jim McKay Memorial Scholarship, now in its sixth year, honors sportscaster Jim McKay (1921-2008) and was established in 2009 by the HBO, CBS, NBC, ABC and FOX networks. It is presented at the Sports Emmy Awards each May.

The $40,000 Trustees’ Scholarship was reestablished by the NATAS Board of Trustees to recognize a standout student achievement in the electronic media arts of the last year. The recipient will be selected from the applicants who distinguish themselves in the 2015 McKay/Wallace competition or who were honored with a chapter scholarship in 2014 and nominated for further consideration by their chapter. The 19 regional NATAS chapters award thousands of dollars in scholarships annually.

The online application for the McKay and Wallace scholarships is available at http://emmyonline.org/scholarship, with a deadline for submissions of 5 pm EST on Monday, March 16, 2015. NATAS Trustees and officials will review applications and creative works, and the National Scholarship Committee will make its final selections in April.