THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY WINS 15 NEWS & DOCUMENTARY EMMY AWARDS

Collectively, The Walt Disney Company has earned 15 News & Documentary Emmy® Awards, across content brands and studios ABC News, Disney Branded Television, Disney+ and National Geographic.

Following its record-breaking 46 nominations—the most ever for the brand—National Geographic took home 10 News & Documentary Emmy Awards. These included four awards for “Trafficked: Underworlds with Mariana Van Zeller,” which also stood as the most-nominated series ever, and two awards for “Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story,” among other acclaimed titles, underscoring the brand’s continued commitment to telling stories that inspire a deeper connection to our world.

ABC News received four wins, including “World News Tonight with David Muir” winning the top award, Outstanding Live News Program, for the third year in a row. From its broadcast at the ABC News presidential debate in Philadelphia to on the ground, anchored coverage of D-Day veterans in Normandy, this program continues to be recognized industrywide for its straightforward reporting and David Muir’s strong connection to viewers. In addition, the program picked up an Emmy for Outstanding Promotional News Announcement. ABC News also won for “20/20: Jimmy Carter: A Full Life” in the Outstanding Recorded News Special category, which documented the life and legacy of an iconic figure through 60 years of archival footage and new interviews in a primetime special premiering the same day of his passing. Additionally, the network took home the award for Outstanding News Direction for “ABC News Your Voice Your Vote Election Coverage – The 2024 Presidential Debate.” Director Lily Olszewski and the team pulled off a tremendous feat involving a live cut between 13 cameras for over two hours, after weeks of careful planning. The historic event, moderated by David Muir and Linsey Davis, was viewed by more than 70 million viewers.

Disney Branded Television’s acclaimed documentary “Madu” secured the Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary award, marking the first News & Doc Emmy win for the brand.

Below is a complete list of all The Walt Disney Company wins.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
Trafficked: Underworlds with Mariana van Zeller (National Geographic)
4 wins

• Outstanding Health or Medical Coverage – “Body Parts”
• Outstanding Crime and Justice Coverage – “Hash Smugglers”
• Outstanding Arts, Culture or Entertainment Coverage – “Illegal Gambling”
• Outstanding Lighting Direction – News – “Illegal Gambling”

Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story (National Geographic)
2 wins

• Outstanding Writing – Documentary
• Outstanding Promotional Announcement – Documentary

Blink (National Geographic)
1 win

• Outstanding Editing – Documentary

Endurance (National Geographic)
1 win

• Outstanding Music Composition – Documentary

Photographer (National Geographic)
1 win

• Outstanding Nature Documentary
  • Paul Nicklen & Cristina Mittermeier: Win or Die

Tsunami: Race Against Time (National Geographic)
1 win

• Outstanding Historical Documentary

ABC NEWS
ABC World News Tonight with David Muir (ABC News)
2 wins

• Outstanding Live News Program
• Outstanding Promotional Announcement: “No Fear”

 

ABC News (ABC News)
1 win

• Outstanding Direction: News: “ABC News Your Voice Your Vote The ABC News Presidential Debate”

 

20/20 (ABC News)
1 win

• Outstanding Recorded News Special: “Jimmy Carter: A Full Life”

DISNEY BRANDED TELEVISION
Madu (Disney+, Disney Branded Television)
1 win

• Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary

The News & Documentary Emmy Awards honor programming content from more than 2,300 submissions that originally premiered in the calendar-year 2024, judged by a pool of over 1,000 peer professionals from across the television and streaming/digital media industry. Entries must have been originally broadcast nationally or made available via streaming platform between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2024.

Media Contacts:
ABC News
Jeannie Kedas
Senior Vice President, Publicity & Communications
jeannie.kedas@abc.com

Van Scott
Vice President, Publicity
van.scott@abc.com

Disney Branded Television
Katherine Nelson
Senior Vice President, Publicity & Communications
katherine.nelson@disney.com

Disney+
Derek Del Rossi
Senior Vice President, Publicity
derek.del.rossi@disney.com   

Disney Entertainment Television
Candice Ashton
Executive Vice President, Publicity
candice.ashton@disney.com

National Geographic
Jennifer DeGuzman
Vice President, Publicity
jennifer.deguzman@natgeo.com