Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Looking to draw broad conclusions about the state of the streaming business from this weeksEmmy nominations?
Heres a suggestion: Dont.
Emmy love can help boost a platforms overall brand and even help some newer shows grow their audience.
And as the streaming space becomes more mature, awards may matter less than ever to the bottom line.
This is not to suggest Emmys are irrelevant.
They are absolutely a helpful way of gauging the general health of platforms program development and marketing teams.
Emmy nominations are always nice; wins are nicer, he told me Tuesday.
Its not the business reason that were doing this.
Now, though, there are no lines between streaming platforms, or platforms in general.
It had the Apple brand (and a big checkbook) to convince talent to hop onboard.
But this is the game were playing …
I think 22 will be a bit of an outlier for a couple of reasons.
One was, you did have COVID overhang, right?
What is it going to look like?
I do think that theres going to be some winnowing on the number of shows.
Weve got a pretty packed year all around, so its not like there are holes elsewhere.
Its tough when some shows get nominated and some dont.
But you just have to kind of keep at it.
Were used to shows kind of coming out and announcing themselves right away.Successiongot 25 nominations in its third season.
It got [five] nominations in its first season.
Sometimes shows have to grow, and build fan bases.
So there are different ways to do this.
It doesnt work like that.
Itd be nice if every show could get nominated.
And I certainly have shows that I wouldve liked to have seen nominated.
But this is the business and its competition.
and sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.
That wouldnt make sense to me.
Whats your take on that?I think its a little bit of hand-wringing.
Its the same production group, the same business affairs group.
I dont think theres anybody else who has the same setup that we do.
But what matters ultimately is the shows that get nominated.
Im not going to lose too much sleep over how people count them up.
Microsoft may be a less flashy choice, but at least on the surface it seems the safer one.
But the shows are more than worth the effort.
If they could only find a way to add reality TV and news, theyd really have something.
TV exec: The decision to release new theatricals on HBO Max was risky.
But it has paid off.
Combined with an aggressive slate of premium scripted series, HBO Max has successfully made the OTT jump.
Reality TV producer:This one also has about a billion question marks next to it.
Will it become the merged Discovery+/HBO Max hour?
Which interface will end up being the winner of the acquisition?
With Casey Bloys scripted picks, the service cant go wrong.
Will Casey still have oversight of unscripted?
Will it become the place for Discoverys properties to live?
Agent: The service just feels more balanced and deeper than the others.
The movies are pretty great too.
PR exec:The HBO halo still reigns supreme.
Its the service I log into weekly and still most consistently.
Producer: Marquis, event programming makes me think of Disney+ not daily as a place to go.
In this game, you better get the habit going across all age groups.
Just not sure what their identity is with the mass audience right now- they need to work on it.
The Marvel and Star Wars series arent a must for me but theyre high quality.
Its top 3 for sure.
Netflix
PR exec:Scale is frankly what keeps Netflix in the top 3 for me.
Its the only way theyre all going to keep passing the keeper test.
TV exec:Not what it used to be for sure.
But dont feel too bad for them.
PR exec:Hate to pile on but outside ofStranger Things, they are a mess.
Agent:Netflix just has not had much.
I lovedInventing Anna,but it was a hate-watch.
You cant denyStranger Things.
They really seemed to score withLincoln Lawyer.But comedies are a miss.
It knows what you watched and keeps feeding you more of it.
The global footprint still makes it the top service in terms of reach around the world.
The noise they make seems to land on the coasts.
I cant tell you how many people still ask me how to find shows I have produced for them.
For a place that is all about consumer breakthroughs, its just not breaking through for the everyday user.
Most people dont even know its pre-loaded on their phone!
Not to mention the billion pockets, and the many billions in the pocketbook.
Sports is an interesting new frontier.
Streaming analyst:What an extraordinary surge in top shelf programming.
Still overlooked, but probably not for long.
Producer:Easy to navigate.
PR exec:They took home an Oscar for best picture.
And then they did it without patting themselves on the back afterwards.
Hulu
TV exec:The basic cable of streaming seems lost.
Becoming ABCs Plus service seems like its going in the wrong direction.
But as part of the Disney+, ESPN+, Hulu bundle a future strategy emerges.
Also love having access to the library of series from other networks.
Producer:Its the new cable.
If that only winds up being ABC, it could be an issue.
The future is getting the 20- and 30-somethings to be loyal.
They do need help making the originals stand out as a marquis piece of their platform.
Oh, and theres the live TV.
Plenty to watch, clean and functional UI.
A lot of the rest of it feels stale.
Jury out onLord of the Rings
Agent:Reacherwas a hit and super fun.
But just an island on their thin, thin, thin schedule.
They should just do book adaptations.
PR exec:NFL probably makes them indispensable a year from now.
Each show has been less memorable than the one before it.
Its just a question of where and when they decide to get serious about the streaming game.
PR exec:Looking forward to seeing what they do with hobbits and halfbacks this fall.
Its here that Paramount+ excels.
And Paramount+ needs a stronger hit rate.
PR exec:Can they merge with Peacock already and get it over with?
Agent:Paramount+ is actually punching above weight a bit.The Offeris odd and fun.Halois big.
And the newStar Trekis the one we have been waiting for.
PR exec:NewYellowstonespin-offs aside (which are ok) just simply doesnt feel like a must service.
EvenTop Gun,which is having a moment, is also available on Amazon.
The lack of an exclusive library is costing them.
PR exec:They keep taking swings.
One is bound to truly cross over.
PR vet:Okay, Ill admit it: theHousewivesare what keep me coming back here.
Thats pretty much it.
Wall St. analyst:Does it need to exist in the current form?
Can they salvage a tie by merging it with someone else?
Not enough quality to make this relationship stick.
PR exec:SNLbeing exclusive there will help and I hope they do another season ofMacGruber.
Also, they had to be higher than Paramount since they have ParamountsYellowstone.
