Streamy Awards

Did You Know?

• The 5th Streamy Awards were the first to be televised, airing live on VH1.
• The 7th Streamy Awards featured the first live musical performance by the Village People in over 30 years.
• The 10th Streamy Awards were hosted by drag queens Trixie Mattel and Katya Zamolodchikova from a party bus due to social distancing.
• MrBeast won Creator of the Year for four years in a row, through the 13th Streamy Awards in 2023.

History

The Streamy Awards were created by Drew Baldwin, Brady Brim-DeForest, and Marc Hustvedt from Tubefilter, along with Joshua Cohen and Jamison Tilsner of Tilzy.tv. While other award shows for online content already existed, the Streamys were the first to focus specifically on web series. The first ceremony took place on March 28, 2009, at the Wadsworth Theatre in Los Angeles. It was put on by the International Academy of Web Television (IAWTV) and co-hosted by Tubefilter, NewTeeVee, and Tilzy.TV, with about 1,300 people in attendance. Across 25 categories, winners included The Guild and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along, which each took home multiple awards, as well as Joss Whedon and Felicia Day.

The second annual Streamy Awards happened on April 11, 2010, at the Orpheum Theatre, hosted by comedian Paul Scheer and streamed live online. The show ran into technical issues and was interrupted by people running across the stage naked. Scheer’s jokes landed poorly with the audience and influencers, who found them unfunny, sexist, and insulting toward internet culture. Because of the negative reception and overall execution, the IAWTV ended its partnership with Tubefilter and stopped co-producing the ceremony, instead creating its own awards for web television.

After that rough second show, the Streamys took a two-year break. In 2011, Tubefilter teamed up with Dick Clark Productions, the company behind events like the American Music Awards, to co-produce the third Streamy Awards and try to restore the event’s credibility. The 2013 ceremony was held at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles and streamed live on YouTube and several other networks at the same time. Critics noted a more polished feel, but some creators, including Felicia Day, complained that the show was moving too much toward traditional media.

The fourth Streamy Awards took place on September 7, 2014, at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, hosted by Grace Helbig and Hannah Hart. Ten new award categories were added, including one for the short-form video platform Vine, and fans got to vote for the first time. A toast to the recently deceased Joan Rivers was called the evening’s most somber moment and an authentic, intimate tribute. However, the show faced criticism for becoming more corporate, with product placements and shout-outs to big companies.