TVSquad

For Ken Erhlich, executive producer of the Emmy broadcast, the goal is clear. "The war cry is always, 'What are we going to do and how are we going to make it better?' We did some inventive things, we changed it up, we understand that this is the industry's big night. This means something and we can't trivialize it, but we certainly can have some fun with it." He told me that last year, prior to the Emmy-in-the-round broadcast, a memorable -- and successful show.

In 2008, the decisions about the 60th anniversary Emmys are still in the works for the September LA broadcast, but one decision has already been made. It won't be in the round. While it looked good on air, the industry didn't like it. "People loved it at home. It had a great look, but you know, you try things, you want to bring something fresh to the show."

As we wind down the 2007/2008 television season, some are already starting to turn their attentions to the Emmy awards. The Hollywood Reporter has a good article breaking down the categories and the front runners for nominations. Although, it's a four pager, and if that annoys you, you can hit up the print version.

There's a nice bit of spin right off the top as Academy Of Television Arts & Sciences' chairman and CEO John Shaffner says, "The audience is coming back to scripted television!" He goes on to add, "It seems like viewers missed it during the strike. The quality in primetime has never been better. It's so amazing and great that it seems unfair to have to hold a contest." Really John? I guess we give him points for enthusiasm, but all of those articles I've seen about ratings being down across the board sing a different tune. More on the prospective Emmys, after the jump.