2015 Emmy Awards: Streaming services gaining ground on broadcast
2015艾美奖昨日揭晓
The award season has arrived in Hollywood. There will be more than 100 Emmy awards handed out this year in every category imaginable. But it will be the big categories—Best Drama and Comedy, Best Actors and Actresses—that will get the most attention, especially if a digital platform takes home a trophy or two.
The rolling out of the red carpet marks the start of awards season in Hollywood, beginning with the Emmys, which recognizes the best in television and streaming media. This year, more than ever, digital platforms such as Netflix and Amazon are shoulder to shoulder with TV's old guard. Netflix received 34 nominations for its original shows “Orange is the New Black,” “Unbreakable,” “Kimmy Schmidt,” and its first breakout hit, “House of Cards.”
"This is the biggest, the most nominations Netflix has every received. Amazon made a big splash with ‘Transparent.’ They got 11 nominations for that show alone," said Geoff Berkshire, associate features editor of Variety.
But the question is, will any of the streaming service shows win Emmys in the big categories such as Best Drama or Best Comedy. They have never done so before. But times are changing, even though traditional television has a history of staying the course.
"The Emmy awards is the TV academy. It's the traditional TV industry. And because they were so reluctant to let cable into the party to begin with, I think we're seeing the same thing with streaming services, where it's still just the early days," Berkshire said.
It took years before the TV academy recognized HBO with major Emmy awards, but once that barrier was broken, cable shows have been on a winning streak. This year's record holder for most nominations, 24, is HBO's “Game of Thrones.” The show is a global phenomenon with a sizable following in China. But heavy editing of the show by Chinese broadcasters has raised the ire of many loyal viewers who want more intrigue, more sword fights, and more dragons.