The Prime-Time Emmy Awards Telecast, scheduled for October 7 on CBS, was called off as US and British military action began against Taliban leaders in Afghanistan.

The 53rd Emmy Awards had already been postponed and rewritten to emphasize national unity in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The Prime-Time Awards Ceremony originally was scheduled September 16.

There were no security concerns for the show, but there were questions of whether it was appropriate to stage the Emmys as the allied military forces were being sent into action, said Jim Chabin, president of the Television Academy.

``We thought, we can't go on. We thought this is not the time to have a celebration, as much as we wanted to do it,'' Chabin said. ``It's a sacrifice we gladly make for the country,'' he said. ``There will be another time for another awards show.''

No decision was made immediately on how or when to bestow the annual awards. The Emmys have never been cancelled in their 53-year history.

Emmy organizers had sought to create a night of television to lift the nation's spirits, cutting back on red-carpet arrival fanfare and asking participants to forgo showy gowns and tuxedoes in favour of business attire.

Extracted from statement issued by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences