TV Academy tweaks Emmy ballot's order

The Television Academy is making tweaks to this year's Emmy ballot order to mitigate potential snubs.

The step will help in randomising how each category is presented alphabetically.

The voting site will evenly show entries for a given category from A-to-Z or Z-to-A for each log-in. The order will be random, meaning that when a member logs in to vote in a given category, say comedy actor, the list will be presented A-to-Z, but when they select another category, say drama series, the list could be presented Z-to-A, reports variety.com.

The move is in response to feedback from last year's nominations, which saw several high-profile omissions fall in the latter half of the alphabet.

The previous year's best actor in a comedy winner Jim Parsons ("The Big Bang Theory"), for example, failed to even gain a nomination last year, as did frequent drama actress nominee Julianna Margulies ("The Good Wife").

Last year, the ballot was presented alphabetically, leading some to theorise that its sheer length impacted the eventual nominees. The number of contenders is sure to increase even further this year, given the boom in scripted series.

"From an alphabetical standpoint, some members when they sign on, they will get A to Z, and some will get Z to A," said TV Academy chairman and CEO Bruce Rosenblum.

--IANS

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