The 9th International Emmy Awards took place on November 23, 1981, in New York City.

The award ceremony, presented by the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (IATAS), honored all programming produced and originally aired outside the United States.

110 programs from 51 television networks from 22 countries competed for the awards.

Australian TV show A Town Like Alice won best drama, beating out Yorkshire Television's The Reason of Things and Granada TV's The Good Soldier.

Sir Huw Wheldon, chief executive of the BBC, received the board's Director Award.