John McVay, OBE, outgoing CEO of Pact, will be presented with the Realscreen Impact Award at the Realscreen Summit in February 2026 (courtesy photo).
Realscreen Announces Nominees for Annual Unscripted Awards
November 4, 2025
Realscreen has announced the nominees for the 2026 Realscreen Awards Program Competition, spotlighting the year’s top unscripted and reality content and creators.
Now in its 16th year, the ceremony will take place Feb. 3, 2026, at the Miami InterContinental Hotel during the 28th edition of the Realscreen Summit, which is co-located there with NATPE Global.
The Realscreen event will be hosted by comedian and two-time Emmy nominee Michael Yo.
“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.”
The Walt Disney Co. leads with 20 nominations, followed by Netflix with 19 and Warner Bros. Discovery with 13.
Countries represented include the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Norway, Australia, Denmark and Italy.
This year also marks the introduction of a new Podcast category, recognizing excellence in nonfiction audio storytelling. Among the inaugural nominees are projects from ESPN, Audible, Vox Media, PBS, CBC/NPR and RaiPlaySound.
The ceremony will also celebrate John McVay, OBE, the outgoing CEO of Pact, who will be presented with the Realscreen Impact Award in recognition of his contributions to the U.K. production community and the global nonfiction and unscripted production industry. The longtime (25 years) leader of PACT is known for his advocacy for U.K. producers — work that has helped build companies and careers, transformed the U.K. television landscape, and left a lasting imprint on programming worldwide.
In addition, Jane Turton, CEO of All3Media, will be inducted into the Realscreen Hall of Fame during the ceremony. She joins past honorees including Hyphenate Media Group’s Cris Abrego, A+E Networks’ Paul Buccieri, HBO Documentary Films’ Nancy Abraham and Lisa Heller, filmmakers Alex Gibney and Stanley Nelson, and PBS CEO Paula Kerger.