It was for standardising widescreen switching signals, in the early 2000s that was a big issue because each company had a different interpretation of what the flags meant. Thus when you were watching TV you would often get the wrong behaviour and distorted pictures. A small group of us sat down and agreed what the proper behaviour should be. Then every other TV standards body in the world adopted it.
There's actually two Engineering Emmy Awards. There's also the 'Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards' given by the ATAS (Academy of Television Arts and Sciences) while 'Technology and Engineering Emmy Awards' are given by NATAS (National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences), not confusing at all.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_and_Engineering_Emm...