Streaming services have been killing television for years, and this summer’s Emmy nominations showed that cable and broadcast are now also-rans on the small screen.
The online streaming networks (Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and HBO) took the overwhelming majority of nominations announced for the September award show, while just two broadcast shows, ABC’s Black-ish and NBC’s This Is Us, gleaned multiple nominations as they both head into their final season.
After falling to Netflix in 2020, HBO regained its status as the king of the small screen with 130 nominations. Although Netflix fell to 129 nominations from last year’s apex of 160, The Crown, Peter Morgan’s sumptuous saga of Queen Elizabeth II and, this year, of her son’s doomed marriage with Princess Diana, tied with The Mandalorian (on Disney+) for 24 nominations, more than any other program. Disney’s own streaming service came in third overall with 71. NBC led among the networks with 46 nominations. Apple TV+ managed 35 nominations. The only other networks to crack the double digits were CBS with 26 nominations, Hulu with 25, ABC with 23, Amazon’s Prime Video with 18, FX with 16, VH1 with 11, and National Geographic with 10.
The Emmys’ recognition of the streaming boom is rather belated. The tastemakers of the Television Academy are following what audiences have already decided over the years. In 2018, NBC, FX, CBS, and ABC rounded out the top six networks for Emmy nominations, although more people subscribed to at least one streaming service than paid for cable. Now, it’s far more tilted toward the streaming services. According to Nielsen, streaming comprises a greater share of the nation’s time watching television than broadcast programs.
And is it any wonder? Audiences no longer have an appetite for multi-camera sitcoms littered with gratuitous laugh tracks. With streaming, networks are no longer beholden to the limitations of the pilot season structure, allowing them to take a chance on newer, unproven talent. Broadcast, more hidebound for many reasons, simply cannot compete. The Television Academy is just the last to realize it.
