The inaugural award winners.

By Catherine Morrissey

February 8^th, 2013, marked a turning point in recognizing excellence in the international kids business:  instead of handing out ONE Emmy statue for the best in “Children and Youth” the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences took a dramatic course change, and handed out SIX (6!) of their impressive statues at a dedicated International Emmy Kids Awards event held in New York City at The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers.

Maybe a result of the dramatic expansion of kids channels around the world (from 64 channels in 2000 to over 275 channels in 2010), or as a new revenue stream for the Academy (as some muttered quietly under their cynical breaths), whatever the truth is, sometimes it doesn’t really matter why there’s a new awards event.   True, several countries have their equivalents of the International Kids Emmys.  But  others including France have nothing at all.