Top SVOD competitors Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) both received multiple nominations by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for their original series, but it was Amazon that walked away with two Golden Globe awards this year while Netflix went home empty-handed.
Amazon Prime Video series Mozart in the Jungle received the award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy. Series star Gael Garcia Bernal won for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series.
Both streaming services, as well as Hulu, saw nominations for several original series. In addition to Mozart, Amazon series Transparent was nominated. Netflix perennial favorite Orange Is The New Black received nominations in several categories. Hulu received a nomination for its original series Casual.
Analysts in general felt that shows that have been around a couple of seasons just didn't do well for either Netflix or Amazon. Daniel Gadher of Ampere Analysis told CNBC that being a newer series than Transparent may have influenced the results for Mozart, while Wedbush Securities Analyst Michael Pachter said the decision was likely more about being the "flavor of the month" according to Home Media Magazine (Disclosure: Home Media is also a Questex-owned publication).
"I think Amazon arrived late to the party and has made a handful of very good shows, and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association tends to favor new over old," Pachter said.
Netflix's early success at the Golden Globes with House of Cards led to speculation that OTT-based original content would soon trump the quality and quantity of content that traditional broadcast and cable channels put out. Those predictions cooled off over time, of course -- traditional outlets still air the vast majority of scripted content, while Amazon and Netflix have to balance their new series and movie output with the need to expand subscriber numbers to fund their enterprise. Still, Netflix received more nominations this year -- eight -- than any other network, including HBO.
For more:
- see this CNBC article
- see this Home Media News article
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