The National Association of Television Program Executives announced that "Modern Family" co-creator Steve Levitan, "Cops" executive producer John Langley and BET CEO Debra Lee are among the latest recipients of NATPE's Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award, recognizing outstanding contributions to television.
Recently appointed NATPE president and CEO Rod Perth announced the recipients Tuesday. He said a fourth winner would be named soon.
Named for the NBC executive who pushed a string of hits including "The Cosby Show," "Miami Vice" and "Hill Street Blues" before his death from Hodgkin's disease in 1997, the award has previously gone to a who's who of celebrities, producers, and executives, including Dick Wolf, Stephen J. Cannell, Bonnie Hammer, Steven Bochco, Marc Cherry, Gail Berman, Mark Burnett, Dick Ebersol, and Regis Philbin.
NATPE is best known for its annual market and conference, held in January. The next one will mark NATPE's 50th anniversary.
Perth said the conference is in talks to keep the conference in Miami, where it will be held in 2013, and that hotel reservations suggest attendance will be stronger this year than last year.
