Kiwi TV Awards to Air in HD But Not the Emmys

On the eve of the 2011 Emmy Awards broadcast, entries have closed for the 2011 Aotearoa Film & Television Awards.

Organisers say the 660 entries are “well above” 2010’s and will announce finalists in each of the 61 categories on October 13.

The AFTA Gala Awards will be held on November 12 and, for the first time, TV3 will screen delayed coverage in HD.

Meanwhile, unlike the Oscars, Sky again will screen the Emmys in SD.

The Vibe will carry the ceremony live from midday on Monday, with E! providing a live Red Carpet countdown from 10am.

Among the nominees are many series that will air in HD on Sky’s new SoHo channel from November, including best drama-contenders Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, Mad Men and Dexter.

Similarly, among the nominated HD mini-series or movies bound for SoHo are Too Big to Fail, The Pillars of the Earth, Cinema Verite and Mildred Pierce while Sky’s free-to-air channel, Prime, will air The Kennedys.

Boardwalk Empire already has won seven of its 18 nominations, in the creative arts categories, and Mildred Pierce two (they were presented last weekend as a curtain-raiser to the main Emmys).

Inexplicably, however, one of SoHo’s best and brightest, Treme, wasn’t nominated in any category.

For more on the vagaries of Emmy voting, see The Guardian’s astute analysis while the full list of nominees, complete with stills and video clips, can be seen here.