Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Live)
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special is awarded to one live television special each year. The award was presented as Outstanding Special Class Program until it was restructured for the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards.
In the following list, the first titles listed in gold are the winners; those not in gold are nominees, which are listed in alphabetical order. The years given are those in which the ceremonies took place.
Winners and nominations
1970s
Outstanding Classical Program in the Performing Arts| Year | Program | Nominees | Network |
| - | - | - | |
| American Ballet Theatre's "Giselle" | John Goberman, producer | PBS | |
| American Ballet Theatre at the Metropolitan Opera House | John Goberman, executive producer; Emile Ardolino, producer | PBS | |
| La Bohème | Michael Bronson, executive producer; John Goberman, producer | PBS | |
| Dance in America: Choreography by Balanchine | Jac Venza, executive producer; Merrill Brockway and Emile Ardolino, producers | PBS | |
| The Nutcracker | Herman E. Krawitz, executive producer; Yanna Kroyt Brandt, producer | CBS | |
| - | - | - | |
| Balanchine IV | Jac Venza, executive producer; Merrill Brockway, series producer; Emile Ardolino, series coordinating producer; Judy Kinberg, producer | PBS | |
| The American Ballet Theatre: The Sleeping Beauty | John Goberman, producer | PBS | |
| Balanchine III | Jac Venza, executive producer; Merrill Brockway, series producer; Emile Ardolino, series coordinating producer; Judy Kinberg, producer | PBS | |
| Giulini's Beethoven's 9th Live: A Gift from Los Angeles | Jeanne Mulcahy, executive producer; John Goberman, producer | PBS | |
| Live from Lincoln Center | John Goberman, producer | PBS |
1980s
1990s
Outstanding Cultural Program| Year | Program | Nominees | Network |
| - | - | - | |
| Vladimir Horowitz: A Reminiscence | Peter Gelb, executive producer; Pat Jaffe, producer | PBS | |
| Balanchine Celebration | Jac Venza, executive producer; Judy Kinberg, producer | PBS | |
| Carnegie Hall Salutes the Jazz Masters: Verve Records at 50 | John Scher and Jac Venza, executive producers; David Horn and Jeff Rowland, producers | PBS | |
| Pavarotti in Paris | Tibor Rudas, producer; Luciano Pavarotti, performer | A&E | |
| Porgy and Bess | Jac Venza, Lindsay Law, Dennis Marks and Richard Price, executive producers; Greg Smith and Stephany Marks, producers | PBS | |
| - | - | - | |
| Verdi's La Traviata with the New York City Opera | John Goberman, producer; Marc Bauman, coordinating producer | PBS | |
| Disney's Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra | Gary Smith and Dwight Hemion, executive producer; Gail Purse, producer; Patrick Davidson, co-producer | Disney | |
| Eric Clapton: Nothing But the Blues — An In the Spotlight Special | David Horn, Martin Scorsese and John Beug, executive producers; Stephen 'Scooter' Weintraub and Ken Ehrlich, producers | PBS | |
| Tibor Rudas Presents The Three Tenors in Concert 1994 | Tibor Rudas, producer | PBS | |
| A Tribute to Black Music Legends | Cindy Mahmoud, executive producer; Curtis Gadson, producer; Candace Jones-Sutton and Joyce Cannady, segment producer | Syndicated |
Outstanding Cultural Music-Dance Program
| Year | Program | Nominees | Network |
| - | - | - | |
| Itzhak Perlman: In the Fiddler's House | Jac Venza, executive producer; Glenn DuBose, executive producer/co-director; James Arntz, producer/writer; Bill Murphy, coordinating producer; Sara Lukinson, producer/writer; Don Lenzer, co-director; Itzhak Perlman, performer | PBS | |
| ' | Anne-Marie Mackay and Jonathon Ker, executive producers; Don Was, producer/director; Larry Schapiro, David Passick and Ken Kushnick, producers; Brian Wilson, performer | Disney | |
| Gregorian Chant: Songs of the Spirit | Bruce T. Marcus, Ellen G. Marcus and Barry Stoner, executive producers | PBS | |
| Peter, Paul and Mary: Lifelines | David Horn, Jac Venza and Ken Fritz, executive producers; Richard Schilling, coordinating producer; Laurie Donnelly, producer; Mitch Owgang, on-line producer; Peter, Paul and Mary, performers | PBS | |
| Rodgers & Hammerstein: The Sound of Movies | Kevin Burns, executive producer/director; Michael E. Katz, executive producer; Kim Egan, supervising producer; Steve Bell, Louise Gallop-Roholt and Debra Sanderson, writers | A&E | |
| - | - | - | |
| Puccini's La Bohème with the New York City Opera | John Goberman, producer; Marc Bauman, coordinating producer | PBS | |
| Bobby McFerrin: Loosely Mozart, the New Innovators of Classical Music | Peter Gelb, executive producer; Pat Jaffe, executive producer/director; Molly McBride and Laura Mitgang, producers; Bobby McFerrin, host/performer | PBS | |
| A Celebration of the American Musical | John Goberman, producer; Marc Bauman, coordinating producer | PBS | |
| John F. Kennedy Center 25th Anniversary Celebration | Fred A. Rappoport, producer/writer; Gary Smith, executive producer/producer/writer; Lawrence J. Wilker, executive producer; Robert Shrum, writer; Dwight Hemion, director | PBS | |
| Mostly Mozart 30th Anniversary Opening Night Concert With Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman | John Goberman, producer; Marc Bauman, coordinating producer | PBS |
Outstanding Classical Music-Dance Program'
| Year | Program | Nominees | Network |
| - | - | - | |
| Yo-Yo Ma Inspired by Bach: Six Gestures | Niv Fichman, producer; Patricia Rozema, director/writer | PBS | |
| Blue Suede Shoes — Ballet Rocks! | Mark A. Rosenberger and David Oakland, producers; Tony Charmoli, director | PBS | |
| The Metropolitan Opera Presents Carmen | Louisa Briccetti and Susan Erben, producer; James Levine, conductor; Gary Halvorson, director | PBS | |
| Paul McCartney's Standing Stone | Paul McCartney, executive producer; Kris Slava, supervising A&E producer; Frances Peters, producer; Christopher Swann, director; Lawrence Foster, conductor | A&E | |
| Variety and Virtuosity: American Ballet Theatre Now | Jac Venza, executive producer; Judy Kinberg, producer/documentary directed by; Thomas Grimm, ballets directed by | PBS | |
| - | - | - | |
| Itzhak Perlman: Fiddling for the Future | Jac Venza, executive producer; Walter Scheuer, executive producer for Four Oaks Foundation; Margaret Smilow, producer; Allan Miller, director; Itzhak Perlman, performer | PBS | |
| Dance in America: A Hymn for Alvin Ailey | Orlando Bagwell, producer/director/writer; Jac Venza, executive producer | PBS | |
| Ellington at 100 – New York Philharmonic and Jazz at Lincoln Center | John Goberman, producer; Marc Bauman, coordinating producer | PBS | |
| New York City Ballet: Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake | John Goberman, producer; Marc Bauman, coordinating producer | PBS | |
| A Streetcar Named Desire: From the San Francisco Opera'' | David Horn, Jac Venza, Lotfi Mansouri, Nigel Boon, Jane Seymour and Barbara Bellini Witkowski, executive producers; John Walker, Judy Flannery and Kate Gaitley, producers; Kirk Browning, director; André Previn, conductor | PBS |
2000s
Outstanding Special Class Program2010s
Outstanding Variety Special| Year | Program | Nominees | Network |
| 2018 | - | - | - |
| 2018 | Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert | Tim Rice, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Marc Platt, Craig Zadan, Neil Meron, John Legend, Mike Jackson, Ty Stiklorius and Alex Rudzinski, executive producers; Javier Winnik, co-executive producer | NBC |
| 2018 | The 75th Annual Golden Globe Awards | Allen Shapiro, Mike Mahan, Barry Adelman, Lorenzo Soria, Jorge Camara, Serge Rakhlin and Meher Tatna, executive producers; Linda Gierahn, supervising producer; Seth Meyers, host | NBC |
| 2018 | The 60th Annual Grammy Awards | Ken Ehrlich, executive producer; Eric Cook, supervising producer; Ben Winston, producer; James Corden, host | CBS |
| 2018 | Night of Too Many Stars: America Unites for Autism Programs | Jon Stewart, executive producer/host; Ricky Kirshner, Glenn Weiss, Robert Smigel, Michelle Smigel and Chris McShane, executive producers; James Dixon, co-executive producer; Jesse Craine, supervising producer; Max Werner, producer | HBO |
| 2018 | The Oscars | Michael De Luca and Jennifer Todd, produced by; Rob Paine, supervising producer; Jimmy Kimmel, host | ABC |
| 2019 | - | - | - |
| 2019 | Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's 'All in the Family' and 'The Jeffersons | Norman Lear, Jimmy Kimmel, Adam McKay, Justin Theroux, Will Ferrell and Brent Miller, executive producers; Eric Cook, co-executive producer | ABC |
| 2019 | The 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards | Allen Shapiro, Mike Mahan, Barry Adelman, Meher Tatna, Anke Hofmann, Janet Nepales and Ali Sar, executive producers; Linda Gierahn, supervising producer; Eric Gurian, producer; Andy Samberg and Sandra Oh, hosts | NBC |
| 2019 | The 61st Grammy Awards | Ken Ehrlich and Ben Winston, executive producers; Eric Cook, supervising producer; Jesse Collins, Raj Kapoor, Chantel Sausedo and David Wild, producers; Alicia Keys, host | CBS |
| 2019 | The Oscars | Donna Gigliotti and Glenn Weiss, produced by; Rob Paine, supervising producer | ABC |
| 2019 | ' | Marc Platt, Adam Siegel, Julie Larson, Allan Larson, Vince Totino, Scott Hemming and Alex Rudzinski, executive producers; Kenneth Ferrone, producer; Gregory Sills, produced by | Fox |
| 2019 | The 72nd Annual Tony Awards'' | Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss, executive producers; Allen Kelman, supervising producer; Sara Bareilles and Josh Groban, hosts | CBS |