# Primetime Emmy Award for Program of the Year

The Primetime Emmy Award for Program of the Year was an annual award presented as part of the Primetime Emmy Awards. It recognized the best single television program of the year. In early Emmy ceremonies, anthology series were more common than traditional sitcoms or dramas; this made Program of the Year the highest honor.
Though traditional comedy and drama series were nominated, the majority of nominees and winners were: telefilms, variety specials, and documentaries. The award was last presented in 1973.

## Winners and nominations
### 1950s

| Year | Program | Episode | Network |
| 1954 (7th) |
| 1954 (7th) | Disneyland | "Operation Undersea" | ABC |
| 1954 (7th) | Light's Diamond Jubilee | Variety Special | Simulcast |
| 1954 (7th) | Medic | "White is the Color" | NBC |
| 1954 (7th) | Chrysler Shower of Stars | "A Christmas Carol" | CBS |
| 1954 (7th) | Westinghouse Studio One | "Twelve Angry Men" | CBS |
| 1955 (8th) |
| 1955 (8th) | Producers' Showcase | "Peter Pan" | NBC |
| 1955 (8th) | Disneyland | "Davy Crockett and the River Pirates" | ABC |
| 1955 (8th) | Ford Star Jubilee | "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial" | CBS |
| 1955 (8th) | Make Room for Daddy | "Peter Pan Meets Rusty Williams" | ABC |
| 1955 (8th) | Producers' Showcase | "The Sleeping Beauty" | NBC |
| 1955 (8th) | The United States Steel Hour | "No Time for Sergeants" | ABC |
| 1955 (8th) | Wide Wide World | "The American West" | NBC |
| 1956 (9th) |
| 1956 (9th) | Playhouse 90 | "Requiem for a Heavyweight" | CBS |
| 1956 (9th) | Kraft Television Theatre | "A Night to Remember" | NBC |
| 1956 (9th) | Omnibus | "Leonard Bernstein" | CBS |
| 1956 (9th) | See It Now | "Secret Life of Danny Kaye" | CBS |
| 1956 (9th) | Victor Borge: Comedy in Music | Variety Special | CBS |
| 1957 (10th) |
| 1957 (10th) | Playhouse 90 | "The Comedian" | CBS |
| 1957 (10th) | The Edsel Show | Variety Special | CBS |
| 1957 (10th) | General Motors 50th Anniversary Show | Variety Special | NBC |
| 1957 (10th) | Hallmark Hall of Fame | "The Green Pastures" | NBC |
| 1957 (10th) | Playhouse 90 | "The Helen Morgan Story" | CBS |
| 1958–1959 (11th) |
| 1958–1959 (11th) | An Evening with Fred Astaire | Variety Special | NBC |
| 1958–1959 (11th) | Hallmark Hall of Fame | "Little Moon of Alban" | NBC |
| 1958–1959 (11th) | Playhouse 90 | "Child of Our Time" | CBS |
| 1958–1959 (11th) | Playhouse 90 | "The Old Man" | CBS |

### 1960s

| Year | Program | Episode | Network |
| 1959–1960 (12th) |
| Not Awarded |||
| 1960–1961 (13th) |
| 1960–1961 (13th) | Hallmark Hall of Fame | "Macbeth" | NBC |
| 1960–1961 (13th) | 1960 Presidential Nominating Conventions | News Program | NBC |
| 1960–1961 (13th) | An Hour with Danny Kaye | Variety Special | CBS |
| 1960–1961 (13th) | Astaire Time | Variety Special | NBC |
| 1960–1961 (13th) | NBC Sunday Showcase | "The Sacco-Venzetti Story" | NBC |
| 1961–1962 (14th) |
| 1961–1962 (14th) | Hallmark Hall of Fame | "Victoria Regina" | NBC |
| 1961–1962 (14th) | Bell & Howell Close Up! | "Walk in My Shoes" | ABC |
| 1961–1962 (14th) | CBS Reports | "Biography of a Bookie Joint" | CBS |
| 1961–1962 (14th) | The Judy Garland Show | Variety Special | CBS |
| 1961–1962 (14th) | Vincent Van Gogh: A Self-Portrait | Telefilm | NBC |
| 1962–1963 (15th) |
| 1962–1963 (15th) | The Tunnel | Documentary | NBC |
| 1962–1963 (15th) | Alcoa Premiere | "The Voice of Charlie Pont" | ABC |
| 1962–1963 (15th) | The Danny Kaye Show with Lucille Ball | Variety Special | NBC |
| 1962–1963 (15th) | The Defenders | "The Madman" | CBS |
| 1963–1964 (16th) |
| 1963–1964 (16th) | The Making of the President 1960 | Documentary | ABC |
| 1963–1964 (16th) | The American Revolution of '63 | News Program | NBC |
| 1963–1964 (16th) | The Defenders | "Blacklist" | CBS |
| 1963–1964 (16th) | The Kremlin | Documentary | NBC |
| 1963–1964 (16th) | Town Meeting of the World | News Program | CBS |
| 1964–1965 (17th) |
| Not Awarded |||
| 1965–1966 (18th) |
| 1965–1966 (18th) | The Ages of Man | Telefilm | CBS |
| 1965–1966 (18th) | Hallmark Hall of Fame | "Eagle in a Cage" | NBC |
| 1965–1966 (18th) | Hallmark Hall of Fame | "Inherit the Wind" | NBC |
| 1965–1966 (18th) | Slattery's People | "Rally 'Round Your Own Flag, Mister" | CBS |
| 1966–1967 (19th) |
| 1966–1967 (19th) | Death of a Salesman | Telefilm | CBS |
| 1966–1967 (19th) | ABC Stage 67 | "A Christmas Memory" | ABC |
| 1966–1967 (19th) | ABC Stage 67 | "The Love Song of Barney Kempinski" | ABC |
| 1966–1967 (19th) | CBS Playhouse | "The Final War of Olly Winter" | CBS |
| 1966–1967 (19th) | CBS Playhouse | "The Glass Menagerie" | CBS |
| 1966–1967 (19th) | Mark Twain Tonight! | Telefilm | CBS |
| 1967–1968 (20th) |
| 1967–1968 (20th) | Hallmark Hall of Fame | "Elizabeth the Queen" | NBC |
| 1967–1968 (20th) | CBS Playhouse | "Dear Friends" | CBS |
| 1967–1968 (20th) | CBS Playhouse | "Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night" | CBS |
| 1967–1968 (20th) | NET Playhouse | "Uncle Vanya" | NET |
| 1967–1968 (20th) | The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | Telefilm | ABC |
| 1967–1968 (20th) | Xerox Special | "Luther" | ABC |
| 1968–1969 (21st) |
| 1968–1969 (21st) | Hallmark Hall of Fame | "Teacher, Teacher" | NBC |
| 1968–1969 (21st) | CBS Playhouse | "The People Next Door" | CBS |
| 1968–1969 (21st) | Heidi | Telefilm | NBC |
| 1968–1969 (21st) | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Telefilm | CBS |
| 1968–1969 (21st) | Mission: Impossible | "The Execution" | CBS |
| 1968–1969 (21st) | NET Playhouse | "Talking to a Stranger" | NET |

### 1970s

| Year | Program | Episode | Network |
| 1969–1970 (22nd) |
| 1969–1970 (22nd) | Hallmark Hall of Fame | "A Storm in Summer" | NBC |
| 1969–1970 (22nd) | David Copperfield | Telefilm | NBC |
| 1969–1970 (22nd) | Marcus Welby, M.D. | "Hello, Goodbye, Hello" | ABC |
| 1969–1970 (22nd) | My Sweet Charlie | Telefilm | NBC |
| 1970–1971 (23rd) |
| 1970–1971 (23rd) | The Andersonville Trial | Telefilm | PBS |
| 1970–1971 (23rd) | Hallmark Hall of Fame | "Hamlet" | NBC |
| 1970–1971 (23rd) | Hallmark Hall of Fame | "The Price" | NBC |
| 1970–1971 (23rd) | Night Gallery | "They're Tearing Down Tim Riley's Bar" | NBC |
| 1970–1971 (23rd) | Vanished | Telefilm | NBC |
| 1971–1972 (24th) |
| 1971–1972 (24th) | Brian's Song | Telefilm | ABC |
| 1971–1972 (24th) | All in the Family | "Sammy's Visit" | CBS |
| 1971–1972 (24th) | Elizabeth R | "The Lion's Cub" | PBS |
| 1971–1972 (24th) | Hallmark Hall of Fame | "The Snow Goose" | NBC |
| 1971–1972 (24th) | The Six Wives of Henry VIII | "Jane Seymour" | CBS |
| 1972–1973 (25th) |
| 1972–1973 (25th) | A War of Children | Telefilm | CBS |
| 1972–1973 (25th) | That Certain Summer | Telefilm | ABC |
| 1972–1973 (25th) | Long Day's Journey into Night | Telefilm | ABC |
| 1972–1973 (25th) | The Marcus-Nelson Murders | Telefilm | CBS |
| 1972–1973 (25th) | The Red Pony | Telefilm | NBC |

## Total awards by network

* NBC – 8
* CBS – 5
* ABC – 3
* PBS – 1

## Programs with multiple awards
### 5 awards

* Hallmark Hall of Fame (2 consecutive; 3 consecutive)

### 2 awards

* Playhouse 90 (consecutive)

## Programs with multiple nominations
### 12 nominations

* Hallmark Hall of Fame (NBC)

### 5 nominations

* CBS Playhouse (CBS)
* Playhouse 90 (CBS)

### 2 nominations

* ABC Stage 67 (ABC)
* The Defenders (CBS)
* Disneyland (ABC)
* NET Playhouse (NET)
* Producers' Showcase (NBC)