Goodbye DVD screeners, Emmy voters will receive a Chromecast

By Mike Flacy July 14, 2015

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Ditching physical discs in favor of streaming digital media, the Television Academy has entered into a partnership with Google in order to provide a secure delivery system for screeners. Physical DVD screeners have been a particularly pesky problem for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as films nominated for an Oscar often leak online, occasionally when a film is still in theaters.

According to details of the multi-year deal, Emmy voters will connect over an exclusive app to stream television episodes that are under consideration for awards. Emmy voters will also receive a Google Chromecast which they can plug into their own television at home to view the screeners privately. While many networks offer a method to stream episodes on the Web through private access, this move will solidify a single platform for content distribution that’s relatively safe from piracy.

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Speaking about the partnership with Google, Academy President Maury McIntyre said “This multi-year commitment with Google will provide a superior experience for viewing Emmy-nominated content. It also gives our members a great way to view programming across their devices year-round.” Of course, members will be required to utilize a television with a HDMI input to stream episodes over the Google Chromecast HDMI dongle.

Interestingly, this transition to streaming media comes one month after the Television Academy announced a shift from paper ballots to online voting for Emmy voters. Specifically, the Television Academy completely banned the use of paper ballots as a valid submission. Alternatively, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences still allow paper ballots for voting, despite offering online voting functionality for the last four years.

The list of Emmy-nominated shows for this year’s award show will be released on Thursday, July 16. The actual awards show is currently scheduled for September 20, 2015 and will be broadcast by Fox.

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