TV Academy Emmy 2026 calendar: eligibility, nomination, voting dates
The Television Academy has unveiled the 2026 Emmy Awards calendar, which includes a new tweak to how some category nominations will be announced in the coming year. The bulk of nominations for the 78th Emmys will still be announced on Wednesday, July 8. But there are fourteen categories of artisans that rely on peer group screening panels – and in 2026, those nominations won’t be announced until the following week, on Wednesday, July 15.
Meanwhile, the TV Academy also said it will announce several Emmy rules changes for the upcoming competition next week. (The complete 78th Emmy rules and procedures will be published in late January.)
As previously announced, the 78th Emmy Awards will air live on NBC (and streamed live on Peacock) from the Peacock Theater at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles on Monday, September 14 at 8pm ET/5pm PT. This is the final year of the four-network Emmy wheel deal.
Meanwhile, the 2026 Creative Arts Emmy Awards will take place on Saturday, September 5 and Sunday, September 6. These ceremonies will also take place at the Peacock Theatre.
Here is the schedule of the 78th Emmy Awards:
June 1, 2025 – May 31, 2026: Eligibility period.
Thursday February 19: Open for submissions.
Tuesday April 7: Deadline to apply for membership to guarantee voting eligibility for both rounds of the 78th Emmy Competition and to secure a discounted entry fee for members. The application(s) must be completed and paid by this date.
Tuesday April 7: Deadline for current voting members to apply for hyphen voting status.
Wednesday May 6: Deadline for lapsed members to apply to reinstate their membership to guarantee voting eligibility for both rounds of the 78th Emmy Competition and secure a discounted entry fee for members. The application(s) must be completed and paid by this date.
Thursday May 7: Registration deadline for programs that identify by genre as Primetime programming and were originally presented on a national platform, June 1, 2025 – May 31, 2026.
Thursday May 7: Upload deadline for all submission materials.
Thursday June 11: Voting in the nomination round begins.
Monday June 22, 10 p.m.: The voting in the nomination round ends.
June 26 – July 7: Voting begins for peer group-specific top 10 round panels.
Wednesday July 8: Nominations announced.
Wednesday July 15: Nominations announced for peer group-specific top 10 round panels.
Wednesday July 22: Deadline for errors and omissions in the nominations.
Week of August 10: Videos of the final round are available to watch.
Friday August 14 – Sunday August 16: Televerse at the JW Marriott at LA Live
Monday August 17: The final round voting begins.
Wednesday, August 26, 10 p.m.: The voting in the final round ends.
Saturday September 5 and Sunday September 6: Creative Arts Awards and Governor’s Gala.
Monday September 14: NBC Telecast and Governor’s Gala.
These are the categories that rely on peer group screening panels for nominations:
Outstanding Cinematography for a Series (Half Hour)
Outstanding Cinematography for a Series (One Hour)
Outstanding cinematography for a limited or anthology series or film
Excellent lighting design/lighting direction for a series
Excellent lighting design/lighting direction for a special
Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score)
Outstanding Musical Composition for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special (Original Dramatic Score)
Outstanding Music Composition for a Documentary Series or Special (Original Dramatic Score)
Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (one hour)
Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (half hour)
Excellent sound editing for an animation program
Outstanding sound editing for a limited or anthology series, film or special
Excellent technical direction and camera work for a series
Excellent technical direction and camera work for a special
And here’s how it works: Nominations are first determined by voting of all entries by the Peer Group. The top 10 to 15 with the most votes are sent to the Peer Group Screening Panel, which consists of eligible members who have volunteered to serve on the panel. The screening panel will then review and vote on all entries to determine the nominations.
