If House of Cards gets Emmy Nod, will there be a Ripple effect on TOLN Soaps?

[DramatistDreamer]

In this morning's NYT I read an article about how the possibility of Netflix's House of Cards getting a Primetime Emmy nomination is causing waves of ambivalence among cable and broadcast operators, in much the same way that the emergence of HBO caused the major broadcast networks to fret in the late 80s and 90s once cable shows were became Emmy contenders.

I don't know whether it's been ironed out fully yet whether TOLN Soaps will be in contention for Daytime Emmys (has it?) but I would guess that if House of Cards gets the nomination then it would be a go for AMC/OLTL for some type of Emmy nomination possibility.

The article was also interesting in how 'anonymous' executives within the broadcast industry expressed their concern that House of Cards could set off a wave of Web based shows that could, in the future, pull awards nominations away from cable & broadcasts TV shows, in the way that HBO, A&E and AMC have pulled awards from ABC, CBS and NBC and FOX. They mentioned that no one openly questions or discusses the matter since they don't want to appear to be whiners.

It makes me wonder whether there is a similar ambivalence in the Daytime soaps toward the emergence of the TOLN soaps? I know these are nascent ventures just starting out but AMC, for example, is really finding its footing and is progressing in such a short space of time that if they are eligible, they could really be in serious contention by next season.

Just scanning a few (not all) soap blogs, journals, I get the impression that AMC/OLTL get token space but not much more than a mention or a blurb. Perhaps these bloggers are unsure and want to give it more time before going more into depth but it sometimes comes off as being dismissive of these shows. But that's a separate issue (kind of).

Any thoughts on this?

By the way, we'll all find out tomorrow whether House of Cards gets an Emmy nomination since they'll be announced tomorrow. I think I'm going to see if there is a live feed online somewhere.

[Cheap21]

http://boards.soapoperanetwork.com/topic/47653-amcoltl-eligible-for-2014-emmys/

[DramatistDreamer]

Thanks Cheap21

See, I thought I heard that it was eligible but I recently heard on some blog that they didn't know whether the shows would be eligible--some soap 'journalists' need to pay better attention, I guess.

That really makes me feel that some of these bloggers are being dismissive of these TOLN shows--they're spouting off things they don't even know. Less and less reason to venture on some of those soap blogs.

I still wonder what's being said behind closed doors about these soaps being eligible.

[~bl~]

It depends completely on the voters whether or not AMC and OLTL will get any respect when it comes to Emmy voting time. I can see the networks though not being happy if the vote does go to shows that aren't available on a regular station. With House of Cards, Netflix cut out the middle man and this is something that the networks + cable wouldn't like.

[RogerNewcomb]

We interviewed NATAS chairman Malachy G. Wiengesat the Smithsonian in May and he told us The OnLine Network's ALL MY CHILDREN and ONE LIFE TO LIVE would be eligible for the 2014 Daytime Emmy Awards.

"Those two shows will fall into the normal soap opera categories. It makes no difference what the genre is."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=M8dGMY28N2U#t=673s

(he actually has an interesting history with daytime soaps if you want to watch the part just before this)

[EricMontreal22]

Thanks Roger! I do kinda worry if some in the established industry will hold out voting for them... I guess if Debbi Morgan, for one very obvious example, is not nominated, we'll know that's the case....

[DramatistDreamer]

Thanks Roger. That video needs to be distributed to some of the other bloggers because there are one or two who seem to be confused about the facts.

Cable TV was once in the position that some of these web based series may well find themselves in now (being seen as interlopers at first and then as a threat to the status quo) but like the article stated, the real concern is that there are only so many hours in a day for people to spend their time and the greater number of options for viewing, the less likely any one channel or medium will have a huge slice of that audience to themselves.

The recent ratings dip in Primetime (ratings dip for Daytime happened eons ago as we're all well aware) illustrates just how splintered the TV audience has become with all the viewing options available.

I thoroughly enjoyed House of Cards so I hope they do get some nominations.

[ChitHappens]

Looks like you got your wish

[JaneAusten]

House of Cards got a bunch of Emmy nods. Spacey, Robin Wright, and the show got a nomination for best drama. Also Jason Bateman got a nomination for best actor in a comedy for Arrested Development.

Does this mean films made for Netflix for example could possibly become Oscar contenders sometime in the future? The film community seems much more snobbish IMO. But it would be great to see the film community also recognize films outside of the Hollywood pets, more independent fare for example.

[~bl~]

No, for an Oscar the film has to be shown in a theater to even get on the ballot. So Netflix could produce the movie, but it would have to at least have a limited release to theaters and not just air on Netflix.

[JaneAusten]

But couldn't the rules be altered to reflect changing viewing patterns? How did House of Cards for example, a program not made for Broadcast or Cable television end up on a ballot for an award that is based on Television programs if the Emmy's did not change their rules?

It just seems that perhaps things like Netflix or Hulu or such could open up a new forum that could allow independent filmmakers for example, to get their films made. The Sundance channel on cable has finally expanded into original independent programming with Top of the Lake this season.

[JackPeyton]

Netflix movies would go into the Emmys TV movie/mini series dept unless running in the theater just for an Oscar

[DramatistDreamer]

Funny thing is that I just saw a video online of the nomination presentation. Yesterday, I was thinking of watching on a livestream, so of course, that didn't happen (lol).

It's going to be very interesting to see if directors and producers and writers go this route for future productions and what that will mean for broadcast and cable. As it is now, many Primetime series bypass broadcast in favor of cable because of the freedoms the medium affords. As technology improves and it becomes more seamless to stream directly on your TV, I wonder whether there could be a third phase where series bypass TV altogether in favor of online distribution. Interesting thoughts.

VOD does releases of films simultaneously with theatrical release sometimes. I could see a Netflix possibly doing the same someday. Hollywood is desperate to mitigate their risk and since their big push into emerging markets like China hasn't quite worked out, they might be open to a partnership with a technology entity.

[soapsnstuds]

Now that All My Children and One Life to Live will be back in the game, Days of Our Lives will probably fall back in the 0 to two nominations total department.