OT: ESPN scheme to get on-air hosts Emmy awards

Here is the link to the article on the Daily Mail (yeah I know) that covers The Athletic's investigation.

Has ESPN been padding its stats?

The cable sports giant has admitted to submitting fake names to the presenter of the Emmy Awards in an attempt to garner more statuettes for on-air talent following an in-depth investigation by The Athletic.

The scheme went unnoticed until last year, when it was discovered by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS), which presents the Emmy Awards. Several on-air hosts have since been asked by ESPN to return their awards. However, there is no proof that the on-air talent in question were aware of the scheme, according to The Athletic.

In total, the scheme resulted in at least 30 statuettes being presented to on-air hosts, who were actually ineligible to receive them. The precise mastermind remains a mystery, but the motivation behind the plan appears to be an effort to sidestep NATAS rules, which, until 2023, forbid on-air hosts from being included in the credit list for the 'outstanding weekly studio show' award. Hosts have always been eligible for individual awards, but NATAS had denied them the chance to win a trophy for an entire show to prevent what it described as double dipping: Being honored twice for the same work.

The operation wasn't overly sophisticated, according to The Athletic: ESPN would submit fake names to NATAS for its nominated programs, then, after those fictitious individuals won the awards, the network would collect them, get them re-engraved and present them to on-air personalities, including several College Gameday hosts.