The network has said the ploy was “a misguided attempt” to recognise on-air talent that were not eligible for certain categories.
The awards won were reportedly re-engraved with the real names of the on-air personalities.
The sports network has apologised.
Details of the ploy were first uncovered in a report on Thursday by sports publication The Athletic.
The National Academy for Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), the organisation behind the Emmys, told The Athletic that it had “identified a number of fictitious credits submitted by ESPN to multiple Sports Emmys competitions”.
NATAS then notified ESPN’s senior management of this finding, who has since apologised and reprimanded those who were responsible.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
ESPN has returned more than 30 Emmy statuettes after the award hosts uncovered a ploy in which some network employees used fake names to circumvent eligibility rules.
The Athletic’s report centred around ESPN’s “College GameDay” programme, which nabbed eight Emmys for Outstanding Weekly Studio Show between 2008 and 2018.
In a bid to secure awards for their on-air talent, the network reportedly circumvented eligibility rules by submitting entries with fake names credited for the programme.
"This was a misguided attempt to recognize on-air individuals who were important members of our production team, " Ms McKay said in an email.
“Once current leadership was made aware, we apologized to [The National Academy for Television Arts and Sciences] for violating guidelines.”
Along with being forced to return the statuettes, NATAS said it has also imposed a one-year disqualification from award eligibility for the senior leadership of “College GameDay”.
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