The CBS telecast of the Emmy Awards ceremony just moved back to its original date of Sept. 20 after recently announcing a switch to Sept. 13 in order not to collide with the network's coverage of two football games earlier in the day that could run into overtime. However, the date change has since been reconsidered because the Emmy Awards would definitely compete in primetime against the MTV Video Music Awards.

"After we announced plans for Sept. 13, MTV informed us they were locked into the same day for the Video Music Awards, with venue and sponsorship agreements in place.  We had the flexibility to move; they didn't," said CBS Executive Vice President Jack Sussman. "It's best for the industry and the audience that these events not compete against each other.  Huge thanks to the Television Academy and (Emmycast producer) Don Mischer for quickly moving mountains to make this happen. If the Emmy broadcast has as much excitement as the scheduling of the date, viewers are in for an unforgettable event."

 "We appreciate CBS and the television academy taking on the mammoth task of moving such a huge event as the Emmy's to accommodate the Video Music Awards. Now audiences will get to experience two phenomenal nights of entertainment," said MTV General Manager Stephen Friedman.

To present the Emmys close as possible to its scheduled 8 p.m. start, "60 Minutes," which airs immediately beforehand, plans a flexible broadcast following the NFL games.

The Emmycast will still compete against football, but on another network. On the evening of Sept. 20, NBC airs the matchup of New York Giants against Dallas Cowboys in the Cowboys' new stadium.

No host of the Emmycast has yet been named, but there's widespread speculation that the eye web will chose one of its network stars Neil Patrick Harris, who recently emceed the Tony Awards and TV Land Awards successfully, or Craig Ferguson. Stephen Colbert is also a possibility since CBS and Comedy Central are both owned by Viacom. In a recent Gold Derby poll, our readers preferred Colbert and CBS/ Comedy Central star Wanda Sykes.

The latest date switcheroo of the Emmycast is great news for journalists covering the awards beat because Sept. 13 marks the opening weekend of the launch of the next Oscars derby: the Toronto International Film Festival.

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