Streaming services of all kinds did well with Emmy nominations

When a Web series released exclusively on YouTube nabs an Emmy nomination, as “Her Story” did on Thursday, the rise of digital and streaming platforms cannot be ignored.

With over 100 nods going to shows on services from Netflix and Amazon as well as the lesser known ActingDead.com and Crackle, the definition of television continues to be expanded and redefined. Accessibility is at the center of such a conversation, said “Her Story” star Angelica Ross, and the reason the digital space is experiencing such success.

“I’m traveling right now and there are a few shows I would love to be watching, but I don’t have cable, but I do have access to YouTube,” she said after the Emmy nominations were announced. “I think [this nomination] shows that it’s not only about the folks in those decision-making rooms about what gets on TV, but an audience that is not being recognized.”

Streaming services broke through at the Emmys in 2013 when Netflix garnered 14 nominations for its drama series “House of Cards.” It won that year in the directing category. (The series and several of its stars won nominations this year as well.) That same year, the Web series “The Lizzie Bennet Diaries” also won an Emmy for creative achievement in interactive media, the first time a YouTube series won that kind of traditional accolade.

Out of at least 103 nominations, streaming platforms outpaced digital. Fifty-four nominations went to Netflix (up from 34 last year) with shows like “Grace and Frankie,” “Making a Murderer” and “Master Of None” receiving recognition in multiple categories.

Amazon received 16 nods, up from last year’s 12, for shows including “Transparent,” “Mozart In The Jungle” and “Catastrophe.” Hulu received two nominations for “11.22.63” and “Triumph’s Election Special 2016.” Crackle, a much smaller streaming platform than the others, received three nominations, with Jerry Seinfeld’s “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” becoming the first-ever digital series nominated as best variety talk series.

Perhaps even more notable are the digital nominations where content was on Web platforms such as on actor-comedian Louis C.K.’s website. His series “Horace And Pete” was nominated twice, for best multi-camera editing for a comedy and best guest actress for Laurie Metcalf. The show can only be accessed by logging onto and purchasing from his website, louisck.net. The Funny or Die website was nominated twice in the short form category, matching two nominations last year, while YouTube won three nominations, including one for “Her Story.”

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