Television Academy switches from DVDs to Google’s Chromecast for Emmy voting

In an effort to update the old DVD mailer experience, the Television Academy has teamed up with Google to distribute Emmy-nominated films to voting members for this year’s awards. The two announced the partnership today that will see Google sending out Chromecasts to all voting members of the Academy:

The initiative represents the latest move by the Academy to evolve and enhance the viewing and voting procedures for the Emmy Awards with state-of-the-art technology and methodology.

“This multi-year commitment with Google will provide a superior experience for viewing Emmy-nominated content,” said Maury McIntyre, President and COO of the Television Academy. “It also gives our members a great way to view programming across their devices year-round.”

Streaming to the $35 Chromecast HDMI sticks for members comes alongside the launch of a new online viewing platform. Members will be able to use the new online platform in addition to the Television Academy mobile apps for beaming content to a Chromecast connected TV.

As of this year the Television Academy has around 19,000 eligible voting members, according to an FAQ on its website. Today’s press release said Google is sending out a Chromecast to “the Academy’s entire eligible voting membership,” and Google confirmed to me that it indeed sent Chromecasts to 18,500 voting members.

A press release sent out by the Television Academy and Google notes that the initiative will hopefully help to get rid of the “vast numbers of DVDs and accompanying packing materials” that were used for voting in years past. It will also improve and modernize the viewing experience for members, while allowing for “a rules change in this year’s Emmy competition, allowing Emmy voters to view and vote for the winners in more categories than ever before.”