The numbers don’t lie: Just as streaming services have dominated consumers’ attention, they’re also grabbing awards attention as well.
With Netflix‘s 112 total Emmy nominations this year, the platform has made history for marking the first time a streamer has achieved the most nominations, toppling long-time frontrunner HBO, which received 108 noms this year.
Netflix has come a long way since 2013, when it first broke into the awards season with 14 nominations, most going to “House of Cards.” Since then, a far wider slate of contenders have drawn kudos. This year, “The Crown” received 13 nominations, “Godless” and “Stranger Things” both nabbed 12 nominations and last summer’s breakout comedy “GLOW” scored 10 nominations. Those four shows garnered just shy of 50 nominations on their own — tying FX’s overall haul, and beating CBS (34), ABC (31) and FOX (16).
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Looking at a visualization of these numbers gives a clearer picture of exactly what this means. The trend in the data goes to show streaming platforms are quickly skyrocketing up toward being the top dog in terms receiving the most total Emmy nominations, being propelled mostly by Netflix. Cable television may be the king of the mountain right now, with the HBO old guard and the emerging television drama hotbed FX keeping most of those numbers up, but streaming has spent the past five years chewing away at them. If trends continue and Hulu and Amazon become even a fraction as prolific as Netflix has been in rolling out content, cable will see itself falling in second place in an era where consumers are cutting the cord in favor of online video platforms.
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Amassing 336 total award nominations in the space of five years represents how aggressive Netflix has been in establishing itself among television giants like HBO with its own original programming. This comes from Netflix’s massive budget, an estimated $8 billion being used toward producing not just scripted series, but true crime docuseries and standup specials as well, diversifying the total categories into which their programs fit.
But it’s not just Netflix. With “The Handmaid’s Tale’s” 20 Emmy nominations, Hulu has managed to rocket up to 27 total nominations in 2018. This is up almost 10 noms from 2017’s 18 nominations, but it’s even more impressive when considering two years ago the streamer only earned two nominations, both in below-the-line categories (special visual effects in a supporting role and variety special writing). That said, “The Looming Tower” didn’t crack the limited series category, and earned just four nominations overall. Perhaps voters’ taste for politically-themed content didn’t extend to the 9/11 deep dive.
Amazon Prime Video also improved their awards stance with this year’s haul of 22 noms, up marginally from last year when it earned 16 total nominations (as it did in 2016). Of the 22 nods, 14 of them stem from “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” riding the wave of awards attention that started with this year’s Globes. The first year the streamer broke into the Emmy race, it earned a dozen noms, 11 of which were for “Transparent.” But “Transparent’s” Emmy hopes have faded given the harassment allegations levied against its star, Jeffrey Tambor.
And then there’s Apple. Although the service didn’t have anything in contention for this year, it’s amassing a star-studded war chest of programming — now just $1 billion, but poised to ramp up to over $4 billion by 2022 — that stands to continue the streamers’ awards invasion.