THE 31ST ANNUAL WEBBY AWARDS CALL FOR ENTRIES BRINGS TOGETHER CREATOR, PODCAST, AI, AND SPORTS LEADERS FROM OPENAI, PINTEREST, THE ATHLETIC, FIFA, AND YOUTUBE, ALONGSIDE CREATORS JAKE SHANE, JAY SHETTY, JORDAN CHILES, AND MORE, TO JUDGE THE NEXT GENERATION OF WEBBY HONORS
The 31st Annual Webby Awards Calls on the Internet’s Best to “Show Your Work.” Early Entry Deadline is Friday, October 30, 2026.
NEW YORK, September 15, 2026: The Webby Awards today opened its 31st Annual Call for Entries, inviting the people shaping the Internet to put their names behind work built to last. As it enters its fourth decade, The Webbys is expanding its honors across Creators, Podcasts, and AI while introducing a new slate of Sports categories to recognize more of the people, ideas and innovations making a lasting impression online.
The Early Entry Deadline to submit work across Websites & Mobile Sites; Video & Film; Advertising, Media & PR; Podcasts; Social; Games; Apps, Software & Immersive; Creators; and AI is Friday, October 30, 2026.
This season, The Webby Awards is expanding its categories to reflect the industries driving creativity and culture forward. New Sports honors will span Video & Film, Social, Creators, Advertising, PR, Branded Content, and Podcasts, recognizing sports as a creative force far beyond the game. Broader recognition will include Video Podcast Co-Hosts; new Creator categories such as Best Visual Effects, Real-Time Collaboration, and College Athletics Campaign; new Advertising Campaign categories, including Best Sports & Entertainment Campaign and Best Creator Campaign; and new AI Experiences & Applications categories, including Coding & Developer Tools and Search & Knowledge.
“As we enter a new season, I’ve found myself thinking about why certain work stays with us while so much else disappears into the feed. The Internet, after all, is not known for standing still. But the work we remember is rarely the loudest,” said Nick Borenstein, GM of The Webby Awards. “It is often the work that feels most distinctly itself, with a clear point of view, bold choices, and the unmistakable mark of the people who made it. This season, we’re celebrating exactly that.”
For more than three decades, the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences has brought together the leading voices shaping entertainment, advertising, media and technology to select the world’s best digital work. This season, The Webbys is expanding its Academy judging body to include leaders across Sports, AI, Podcasts and the creator economy.
The Academy’s more than 3,000 members include Jake Shane, Comedian, Digital Entertainer and Host of Therapuss; Claudine Cheever, Chief Marketing Officer of Pinterest; Jason Kwon, Chief Strategy Officer at OpenAI; Josh Johnson, Comedian; Jenny Storms, Chief Marketing Officer of NBCUniversal Television & Streaming; Chris Bellinger, Chief Creative Officer of PepsiCo Foods U.S.; Deborah Archer, President of the ACLU; and Kim Larson, Managing Director, Head of Creator & Gaming at YouTube. They join leading experts from organizations including Coca-Cola, VIsa, SKIMS, Waymo, FIFA and more to judge the next generation of Webby-winning work.
Following the landmark introduction of Creator Business, The Webby Awards will continue to recognize creators transforming digital storytelling into cultural influence, thriving businesses and real-world impact. Past Webby-winning creators include Druski, Colin & Samir, Josh Johnson, Amelia Dimoldenberg, Jake Shane, Steven Bartlett, Keith Lee, and Trixie Mattel.
New and expanded Creator Business honors include Branded Entertainment, Real-Time Collaboration, Creator/Influencer Partnership or Collaboration: Sports, Athlete-Led Media or Venture, and College Athletics Campaign. Creator Excellence has also expanded to include Best Interview or Conversation and Best Visual Effects, alongside the newly revised Best Activation or Stunt. Together, these honors reflect the full breadth of creative, editorial and entrepreneurial work driving the creator economy forward.
This year’s podcast expansion reflects how quickly the medium is growing beyond audio. Podcasts: Individual Episodes adds new honors for Sports, Technology, and Public Service & Activism, joining established categories including Arts & Culture, Comedy, Science & Education, and Health, Wellness & Lifestyle. In Podcasts: Features, two new honors, Best Video Podcast Co-Hosts and Best Creator Series, round out a slate that already recognizes Best Video Podcast, Best Partnership or Collaboration, Best Co-Hosts, and the performance and craft behind every standout show.
New categories will also recognize excellence across the foundational formats and experiences that continue to shape online culture.
In Websites & Mobile Sites: Features & Design, new honors for Best Visual Design: Innovation and Best Digital Storytelling will complement existing recognition across user experience, visual design, technical achievement and digital content.
Expanded Video & Film honors include Performance & Craft: Best Vertical Series, Best Sports Storytelling, and Branded Entertainment: Technology, joining The Webbys’ comprehensive recognition of video storytelling, craft, series, channels and branded entertainment.
Across Social, new campaign categories include Sports, Automotive, Travel & Lifestyle, and Best Reactive Campaign. Newly revised honors include Best Contest or Challenge, Best Immersive or Interactive Experience, and Best Use of AI, reflecting how brands and creators are building campaigns for an increasingly fast-moving digital landscape.
In addition to its expanded categories, The Webby Awards will continue its tradition of recognizing industry-defining achievement through its prestigious “Of the Year” awards, including Agency of the Year, Brand of the Year, Network of the Year, Media Company of the Year, Podcast of the Year, and Production Company of the Year.
Last year, The Webby Awards received over 13,000 entries from all 50 states and more than 70 countries, creating a global meeting point for the creators, storytellers and innovators shaping the Internet.
This season’s entrants will have the opportunity to join a three-decade legacy of Webby Winners including Kim Kardashian, Prince, DEPT®, Google, Dr. Fei-Fei Li, Pete Davidson, Shonda Rhimes, R/GA, Ogilvy, Kylie Kelce, Mark Cuban, Google Co-Founder Sergey Brin, Takashi Murakami, Taraji P. Henson, Wieden+Kennedy, Apple, Amazon, and more.
All entrants compete for two of the Internet’s most coveted honors: The Webby Award, selected by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, and The Webby People’s Voice Award, voted on by the global online public. Last year, Internet fans from more than 230 countries and territories cast over 4.6 million People’s Voice votes.
The Early Entry Deadline is Friday, October 30, 2026. Entrants can take advantage of early entry pricing by submitting work across Websites & Mobile Sites; Video & Film; Advertising, Media & PR; Podcasts; Social; Games; Apps, Software & Immersive; Creators; and AI.
For more information on the 31st Annual Webby Awards and to enter, visit webbyawards.com.
Find The Webby Awards Online:
Website: webbyawards.com
Instagram: @thewebbyawards
X: @TheWebbyAwards
TikTok: @thewebbyawards
LinkedIn: The Webby Awards
Facebook: Facebook.com/TheWebbyAwards
YouTube: youtube.com/thewebbyawards
About The Webby Awards:
Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by The New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international awards organization honoring excellence on the Internet across Websites & Mobile Sites; Video & Film; Advertising, Media & PR; Podcasts; Social; Games; Apps, Software & Immersive; Creators; and AI.
Established in 1996, The Webby Awards received over 13,000 entries from all 50 states and more than 70 countries worldwide last year. The Webby Awards is presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.
Sponsors and partners of The Webby Awards include Adobe, WP Engine, Patreon, ElevenLabs, Framer, Meta Labs, KPMG, NAACP, The Wall Street Journal, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, SXSW, TechCrunch, and The Podglomerate.