PBS SoCal Dominates 2026 Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards

The 78th Los Angeles Emmy Awards ceremony took place at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles on Saturday night, with PBS SoCal emerging as the biggest winner, matching its 2025 haul with a total of 8 trophies. This impressive feat was matched by KMEX-TV, which also secured 7 awards, closely followed by KVEA with 6, ABC7 with 4, and NBC4 with 4.

The ceremony, hosted by ABC7’s entertainment reporter George Pennacchio, honored outstanding coverage of the devastating January 2025 fires and the achievements of two of Los Angeles’ top sports teams, the LA Lakers and the Dodgers. ABC7’s David Ono was the recipient of the 2026 Los Angeles Area Emmy Governors Award, produced by Bob Bain and Bob Bain Productions.

Full List of Winners:

The winners of the 78th Los Angeles Emmy Awards are as follows:

Investigative News Story:

SOCAL FIRESTORMS 6 MONTHS LATER: ABC7, PALISADES FIRE INVESTIGATION (EYEWITNESS NEWS AT 5PM) – ABC7

Human Interest News Story:

KVEA, REPARTIDOR DE FRESAS DETENIDO – KVEA (NOTICIAS TELEMUNDO 52 A LAS 6PM) – Enrique Chiabra, Anchor

Health/Science News Story:

KMEX-TV, DEL CAMBIO CLIMÁTICO – KMEX-TV (NOTICIAS 34 6PM) – Gabriela Teissier, Producer, Reporter, Writer; Andres Fernando Pruna, Camera, Editor, Producer

News Series:

BLACK HERITAGE: ALTADENA – NBC4 (ROOTS AND RESILIENCE) – NBC4

Live Special Events – News:

ABC7 PRESENTS THE 40TH ANNUAL ABC7 KINGDOM DAY PARADE – ABC7

Business/Consumer News Story:

AUSENTISMO EN LOS CAMPOS DE CULTIVO – KVEA (NOTICIERO TELEMUNDO 52 A LAS 6PM) – Enrique Chiabra, Producer, Reporter; Luis Enrique Rivera, Producer; Manuel Pineda, Camera; Yolimar Aquino, Editor; Yansily Reyes, Editor

Feature Segment:

INDISPENSABLES, PERO INVISIBLES: KMEX-TV (MANOS QUE RECONSTRUYEN) – KMEX-TV (AL PUNTO CALIFORNIA) – Arturo Quezada, Camera, Editor, Producer; Dina Rodriguez, Producer

L.A. Local Color:

HPISCANIC HERITAGE MONTH – Spectrum News 1 (CANDELAS GUITARSSpectrum News 1

Live Special Events – Programming:

66TH ANNUAL LA COUNTY HOLIDAY CELEBRATION – PBS SoCal (Taylor Comen, Executive Producer; Letitia Fernandez Ivins, Executive Producer; Michelle Merker, Producer; Jennifer Chang, Writer; Cristina Lucio, Associate Producer; Patrick Traylor, Associate Producer; Madeleine Ciano, Associate Producer; Aloe Blacc, Host; Maya Jupiter, Host)

Live Coverage of an Unscheduled News Event:

BREAKING NEWS: SOCAL FIRESTORMS – ABC7

Live Sports Coverage:

NUESTRA COPA, NUESTRA PASIÓN – KVEA (KVEA)

Sports Tease:

HOHEI OHTANI: BASEBALL’S SOLAR ECLIPSE – Spectrum News 1 (Taylor Schaub, Producer)

Sports Special:

竜巻 – THE STORY OF NOMOMANIA – Spectrum SportsNet (Aaron Minderhout, Producer; Greg Taylor, Executive Producer; Erick Vazquez, Producer; Cary Osborne, Associate Producer; Logan Montane, Camera; Matthew Blum, Camera; Joseph Forquer, Camera; Brandon Cervantes, Camera; Margie Carson, Camera)

Sports Feature:

AFTER THE FIRE (BACKSTAGE LAKERS) – Spectrum SportsNet (Spectrum SportsNet)

Entertainment News Story:

BOB’S BRUSH WITH FAME – NBC4 (NBC4 NEWS AT 5) – Michael Brownlee, Producer, Reporter, Writer

Entertainment:

COLOR IN MOTION: CHROMATIC – PBS SoCal (Jaime Morgan Muñoz, Producer; Nic Cha Kim, Producer; Angela Boisvert, Executive Producer; Tamara Gould, Executive Producer; Matt Bass, Director of Photography; Ben Boyd, Editor; Robert McDonnell, Supervising Producer)

Music Composition:

ART & SCIENCE COLLIDE – PBS SoCal (Dan Deacon, Composer)

Crime/Social Issues News Story:

INFIERNO EN ADELANTO – KMEX-TV (NOTICIAS 34 6PM) – Candela Martinez, Reporter, Writer

Crime/Social Issues:

AGING IN AMERICA: PBS SoCal (SURVIVE OR THRIVE) – Neil Steinberg, Director, Executive Producer; Mark Jonathan Harris, Producer; Steve Purcell, Co-Producer, Editor; Karin Hayes, Co-Producer; Martin Sheen, Host; Michelle Merker, Producer

Public Service Announcement:

EMERGENCY LIGHTS? PULL TO THE RIGHT – LA36 (Vance Kotrla, Director, Producer, Writer)

Short Promo – News:

NBC4: PICKING UP THE PIECES – NBC4 (NBC4)

Short Promo – Programming:

CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT (PBS SoCal) – PBS SoCal (Olivia Cox, Editor, Producer)

Environment News Story:

Cryo-Rescue: Race to Preserve Life – NBC4 (NBC4 NEWS AT 5PM) – Enrique Roman, Camera; Annette Arreola, Reporter

Art/Cultural/Historical News Story:

L.A. CUMBIA – KMEX-TV (NOTICIAS 34 6PM) – Arturo Quezada, Camera, Editor, Producer; Dina Rodriguez, Producer; Alvaro Corzo Virviescas, Co-Producer

Arts:

ARETHA! WITH SHELÉA AND PBS SoCal (THE PACIFIC SYMPHONY) – Maura Daly Phinney, Executive Producer; Andy Trimlett, Producer; Steve Purcell, Director; Keena Levert, Associate Producer; Sheléa Melody McDonald, On-Camera Talent

Culture/History:

SOMOS DE AQUÍ – KMEX-TV (William Negrón, Executive Producer; Julio Octavio Valdez, Anchor; Carlos Leonardo Gonzalez, Camera; Juan Ramirez, Editor; Marco A. Flores, Executive Producer)

Sports Series – Programming:

BACKSTAGE: LAKERS – Spectrum SportsNet (Spectrum SportsNet)

Short Promo – Sports:

WAR TIME – USC Football (Eric Michael, Camera, Director, Executive Producer; Sanay Saboo, Director, Editor, Producer; Luke Cuellar, Graphic Designer; Mic Ferrante, Editor; Michael Malara, Editor; Geo Robinson, Editor; Ezekiel Wagner, Editor; Zahir Martin, Editor; Douson Yuan, Editor; George Tyler Heffley, Editor; Radmen Niven, Associate Producer; Cody Worsham, Associate Producer)

Sports News Story:

LA HUELLA DEL FÚTBOL – KVEA (NOTICIERO TELEMUNDO 52 A LAS 5:30PM) – Alejandro Navarro, Anchor

Informational Series (More Than 50% Studio):

AL PUNTO CALIFORNIA – KMEX-TV (KMEX-TV)

Informational Series (More Than 50% Remote):

TU VOZ LA – KMEX-TV (KMEX-TV)

Information Segment:

COMBATING CLIMATE CHANGE – PBS SoCal (WITH TREES) (Daniel H. Birman, Director of Photography, Executive Producer, Producer, Writer, Director; Megan E. Chao, Editor, Executive Producer, Producer; Angela Boisvert, Executive Producer; Tamara Gould, Executive Producer; Clarissa Guy, Co-Producer; Jaime Morgan Muñoz, Co-Producer; Susy Garciasalas Barkley, Co-Producer; Jason Janocko, Director of Photography; Erik C. Andersen, ACE, Editor; Robert McDonnell, Senior Supervising Producer)

Regularly Scheduled Daily Morning Newscast:

4:00AM-11:00AM – EYEWITNESS NEWS AT 6AM – ABC7 (ABC7)

Regularly Scheduled Daily Daytime Newscast:

11:00AM-4:00PM – NOTICIERO TELEMUNDO 52 AL MEDIODÍA – KVEA (KVEA)

Regularly Scheduled Daily Evening Newscast:

4:00PM-12:00AM – NOTICIERO TELEMUNDO 52 A LAS 11PM – KVEA (KVEA)

The full list of winners is a testament to the exceptional talent and dedication of the individuals and teams involved in creating these outstanding programs.