Industry

Realscreen has announced the nominees for the 2026 Realscreen Awards Program Competition, spotlighting the year’s most exceptional content and creators in the field. Now in its 16th year, the prestigious ceremony will take place Tuesday, February 3, 2026, at the Miami InterContinental Hotel, during the 28th edition of the Realscreen Summit. The event will be hosted by comedian and two-time Emmy nominee Michael Yo (Scrambled Up).

“Factual programming plays an integral role in the cultural landscape, and the Realscreen Awards juries identify the stand-out creativity and global collaboration that drives the unscripted community forward,” said Realscreen EVP Mary Maddever. “The 2026 nominees reflect change afoot in the marketplace and benchmark what it takes to credibly inform, entertain and inspire audiences around the world.”

Leading nominations by company are:
The Walt Disney Company – 20 nominations
Netflix – 19 nominations
Warner Bros Discovery – 13 nominations

Countries represented include: USA; Canada; United Kingdom; Norway; Australia; Denmark and Italy.

This year also marks the introduction of a new Podcast category, recognizing excellence in non-fiction audio storytelling. Among the inaugural nominees are projects from ESPN, Audible, Vox Media, PBS, CBC/NPR, and RaiPlaySound, showcasing the expanding reach and creative innovation of factual storytelling across platforms.

The upcoming ceremony will also celebrate John McVay, OBE, outgoing Chief Executive of Pact, who will be presented with the Realscreen Impact Award in recognition of his significant contribution to the UK production community and, by extension, the global non-fiction and unscripted production industry. As the longtime leader of PACT concludes his remarkable 25-year tenure, Realscreen is proud to honor his effective advocacy for UK producers — work that has helped build companies and careers, transformed the UK television landscape, and left a lasting imprint on programming worldwide.

In addition, as previously announced, Jane Turton, CEO of All3Media will also be inducted into the Realscreen Hall of Fame during the ceremony.