The Morning Fix: Emmy noms out! Viacom and DirecTV hit impasse.

After the coffee. Before analyzing the Emmy nominations.

The Skinny: Once again I’ve been snubbed by the Emmy Awards. Where’s the love? Thursday’s headlines include early analysis of the Emmy nominations, China’s plan to release “The Dark Knight” and “The Amazing Spider-Man” opposite each other and the latest on the fight between Viacom and Nickelodeon.

Daily Dose: The Emmy nominations were announced Thursday morning (see below). Clearly the most awkward Emmy nomination has to be best actress for Kathy Bates of “Harry’s Law.” NBC, of course, canceled “Harry’s Law” despite it being one of the network’s most popular dramas. The problem was that the audience was too old for NBC. That didn’t stop NBC from keeping Brian Williams’ newsmagazine, which has much lower ratings and an even older audience. If Bates wins it could make for great TV.

Now the countdown begins. The Emmy Award nominations are out and the usual suspects -- “Mad Men,” “Breaking Bad,” “Modern Family” and “Game of Thrones” -- cleaned up. I still don’t quite get why “Nurse Jackie” is considered a comedy but then I also don’t understand why “American Horror Story” is a miniseries. Isn’t the idea of a miniseries is that it has an end date? Early reports from the Los Angeles Times, Variety and USA Today as well as the full list of nominations from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Hitting a wall. Looks like DirecTV subscribers may be without Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central and other Viacom cable networks for awhile. On Wednesday, Viacom said it was walking away from the negotiating table, claiming DirecTV isn’t interested in getting a deal done. DirecTV countered that it had agreed on a new contract when Viacom suddenly added some new terms. Meanwhile, the ratings for Viacom’s channels, particularly Nickelodeon, have fallen dramatically in the week since DirecTV stopped carrying them. Analysis from the Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg, New York Times and Wall Street Journal.

Holy conundrum! The China Film Group, which sets release dates for U.S. films in China, wants to pit “The Dark Knight Rises” against “The Amazing Spider-Man” on Aug. 30. Warner Bros., which is the studio behind “The Dark Knight Rises,” is not happy about that prospect and may in fact decide not to release its latest Batman move in China if the date isn’t changed. The fear is that by putting “Spider-Man” and “Dark Knight” against each other, both will suffer. So why would the China Film Group, which is state-run, do it? Because if those two hurt each other, homegrown product may also benefit. More from the Los Angeles Times.
All is well...really. The top brass at the cable channel OWN -- Oprah Winfrey and co-presidents Sheri Salata and Erik Logan -- chatted with Variety and said they think the channel is starting to find itself after a rocky start. Salata acknowledged the network still doesn’t have a show that is a “game-changer.”

Who can I afford? The Hollywood Reporter has come out with its annual list of the most powerful lawyers in entertainment. All the usual suspects are here including Marty Singer, Bert Fields and Skip Brittenham. Perhaps the most interesting thing is the continued omission of Jake Bloom, THR said, because he won’t have lunch with the magazine.

Inside the Los Angeles Times: Kenneth Turan on “The Dark Knight Rises.”

Follow me on Twitter for the latest on the DirecTV - Viacom fight. Twitter.com/JBFlint