CBS moves the 2009 Emmys, again

The Emmy trophies

Credit: AP

CBS has rescheduled the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards for Sunday, September 20, only two weeks after moving the Emmys away from that crowded date.

The Emmys had originally been set for September 20 all along, but when the NFL released its schedule, CBS found itself with a doubleheader that could potentially delay primetime and, thus, the Emmy telecast. So on June 1, CBS pushed the Emmys up to September 13.

One problem: Nobody at CBS bothered to see if there were any other events scheduled for that day, not even within the same corporate ownership group. Well, it turns out that MTV had already made plans for the Video Music Awards on September 13. Ooops.

So now? The Emmys are moving back to September 20 and the MTV Video Music Awards are holding their ground.

"After we announced plans for September 13, MTV informed us they were locked into the same day for the Video Music Awards, with venue and sponsorship agreements in place.  We had the flexibility to move; they didn't," says Jack Sussman, Executive Vice President, Specials, Music & Live Events, CBS Entertainment. "It's best for the industry and the audience that these events not compete against each other. Huge thanks to the Television Academy and Don Mischer for quickly moving mountains to make this happen. If the Emmy broadcast has as much excitement as the scheduling of the date, viewers are in for an unforgettable event."

This certainly solves MTV's problem, but it does nothing to alleviate the potential conflicts with the September 20 NFL games. In CBS' release, the network says that "60 Minutes" will plan what is described as "a flexible broadcast" for that night, in an effort to bring the Emmys "as close as possible" to its 8 p.m. scheduled start.

The nominations for the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards will be announced on July 16 at 5:40 a.m. PT.

Stay up to date with the latest breaking news in the worlds of movies, TV and music by signing up for HitFix E-mail Alerts.