PBS SoCal took home the most trophies for the second year running at the 78th Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards, held Saturday night, July 25, 2026, at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. The public broadcaster won 8 statuettes, matching its tally from the 77th ceremony in 2025, according to Deadline.

Close behind was KMEX-TV, the Univision-owned Spanish-language station, which also repeated its previous performance with 7 wins. KVEA, the Telemundo-owned station, collected 6 trophies — a slight dip from 2025, when it swept all three Regularly Scheduled Newscast categories. This year, KVEA took two of those three newscast prizes. ABC7 claimed the third, winning the 4 AM–11 AM newscast slot.

ABC7 and NBC4 each finished the evening with 4 awards. Spectrum News 1 and Spectrum SportsNet won 2 apiece, while LA36, Spectrum SportsNet LA, and USC Football each picked up a single trophy.

ABC7 anchor David Ono received the 2026 Los Angeles Area Emmy Governors Award, a career honour presented by the Television Academy. ABC7 also won the Investigative News Story category for "SoCal Firestorms 6 Months Later: Palisades Fire Investigation," and the Live Special Events – News category for its broadcast of the 40th Annual Kingdom Day Parade. The ceremony's host was ABC7 entertainment reporter George Pennacchio, with production handled by Bob Bain and Bob Bain Productions.

Several winning segments reflected the events that defined Los Angeles over the past year. NBC4 took the News Series category for "Black Heritage: Altadena Roots and Resilience." KMEX-TV won the Health/Science News Story prize for "Inteligencia Artificial y la Ciencia del Cambio Climático," produced and reported by Gabriela Teissier. KVEA's Human Interest winner, "Repartidor de Fresas Detenido," was anchored by Enrique Chiabra.

Sportscasts also had their night. Spectrum SportsNet LA won the Sports Special category for "Tornado – The Story of Nomomania." Spectrum News 1 took the Sports Tease prize for "Shohei Ohtani: Baseball's Solar Eclipse," produced by Taylor Schaub. The ceremony also honoured coverage of the LA Lakers and Dodgers.

PBS SoCal's wins stretched beyond news into arts programming. The station won the Entertainment category for "Color in Motion: Chromatic Explorations of Cinema (PST Art)" and the Music Composition category for "Art & Science Collide," composed by Dan Deacon. Naibe Reynoso presented the Entertainment segment during the ceremony, per the Television Academy.

The Los Angeles Area Emmys are distinct from the national Primetime Emmys — they recognise locally produced television, from newscasts to community programming, across the greater LA market. The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, a separate ceremony, will air live on NBC and Peacock on September 14, 2026, hosted by Mariska Hargitay.

The invitation-only LA ceremony began at 6:00 PM PT. Cris Abrego serves as Television Academy Chair. Submissions for this year's awards opened on January 21, 2026, with nominations announced on June 2.