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Netflix Grabs a Record Number of Emmy Nominations

By Anders Bylund – Jul 29, 2020 at 2:07PM

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New media services dominated the nominations for the 72nd Emmy Awards.

The nominations for the 72nd Emmy Awards are in. Video-streaming services dominated the list, led by a record-breaking 160 nominations for Netflix (NFLX -1.26%) shows.

Network rankings

Premium cable channel HBO snagged the second-largest number of Emmy nominations with 107 nods. The AT&T (T -0.80%) subsidiary switched places with Netflix compared to last year's awards, where HBO led the pack with 137 nominations -- an all-time record at the time -- ahead of Netflix's second-place showing with 118 mentions. HBO and Netflix also led the industry in actual Emmy wins last year by taking home 37 and 27 statuettes, respectively.

Traditional TV network NBC held firm in third place, though the Comcast (CMCSA 0.14%) division's nomination haul declined from 58 to 47. ABC and FX filled out the top five with 36 and 33 nominations, respectively, adding up to a strong showing for their shared parent company, Walt Disney (DIS -0.84%). Disney's presence was actually much larger than that. Hulu got 26 nods, and that streaming platform is entirely under Disney's control nowadays. Brand new streaming service Disney+ added another 19 mentions, and the Fox network got 15 for a grand total of 129 Emmy nominations of Disney-owned networks.

A young couple share some popcorn in front of the TV.

Image source: Getty Images.

2019's fourth-most nominated network, Amazon (AMZN -0.82%) Prime Video, slid down to sixth place this time as its nomination count dropped from 47 to 30.

HBO's Watchmen received 26 nominations, followed by 20 mentions of Amazon Prime's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Netflix built its record-breaking total on a large number of respectable showings rather than a small set of extremely successful titles.

The National Association of Television Arts and Sciences will consider 573 nominations this year, 7% above the 534 listings of the 71st Emmy Awards.

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Anders Bylund owns shares of Amazon, Netflix, and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon, Netflix, and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool recommends Comcast and recommends the following options: long January 2021 $60 calls on Walt Disney, short January 2022 $1940 calls on Amazon, long January 2022 $1920 calls on Amazon, and short October 2020 $125 calls on Walt Disney. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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