In recent years, Netflix has soared in popularity.  I know for my roommates and I we could not live without Netflix.  For those of you who do not use Netflix, it is a subscription based website that you pay a flat fee for every month.  It is filled with thousands of television shows and movies, including some of their own original content, which can be streamed either live or order a DVD to your home for no extra charge.

Like I said before, Netflix is becoming one of the most popular ways for people to stream television shows and movies.  For the 65^th Annual Emmy Awards, Netflix was nominated for fourteen awards.  According to the New York Times, this was the first time that an Internet streamed series rather than one broadcast on actual television had been nominated for an Emmy in one of the top categories, including lead actor and actress for House of Cards, (Stelter).  Personally I think it is a definitely a reflection of the times and shows that even an awards show that has been around for over a half century knows when to adapt to its audience.

When it was finally time for the actual Emmy’s and the winners were announced, Netflix took home only one award.  Even though it was just one award, it was a groundbreaking moment for not only Netflix and the Emmy’s, but for the future of how we broadcast television series.  The PBS web series, Mediatwits, discussed the Emmy’s after the winners were announced.  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuOnUbd25_I)  This was the first time in history that a noncable, nonbroadcast series won a primetime Emmy.  Some people believe that because it is not a true television series in the traditional sense that it should not be eligible for an Emmy award.  Do you think that this matters?  Does it change the credibility of the awards having an Internet series win an award versus a traditional cable or network series?

Besides winning a traditional Emmy, Netflix was able to nab a Technical Emmy.  These were the 65^th annual Technology and Engineering Emmy Awards.  Netflix was recognized for “personalized recommendation engines for video discovery,” (Winslow).  According to Broadcasting and Cable, viewers today are largely viewing their media digitally and television needs to “speed up the pace of innovation.”  How do you mostly consume media?  What about television exclusively?  Do you agree with the above statement that traditional television needs to advance quicker in order to keep up with digital media streams?

Regarding the need for updated television systems, one of our class readings discussed the Nielsen rating system and suggested that it was outdated and needed to be phased out.  Even though the rating system said it was going to include Internet streaming in the fall, in order to accommodate online television like Netflix, another problems till remains.  The article points out how a lot of viewers not only watch these shows on playback using TiVo, but they also research actors and tweet about episodes (Vanderbilt 3).  Losing shows on the Nielsen rating system are shows that are achieving high critical acclaim.  These include Breaking Bad, Girls, and Mad Men.  Based off of this, do you think that the Nielsen rating system is out dated?  Do you think that adding online streaming, like Netflix, Hulu, and AppleTv, will have a positive impact on the Nielsen system or do you think it will not make a difference?  Is there really a way to track how many full and complete episodes each household watches on Netflix or will it only show if they clicked the link and started to watch it?

Overall I think that Netflix will continue to grow, as will other online streaming outlets.  The convenience of having a multitude of shows and movies at the click of a mouse is a wonderful thing.  And with these streams like Netflix creating their own original content, I think it is just a matter of time before we see Netflix original series being nominated for and winning multiple Emmy categories.  Online streaming is the television of the future.  While I think this is the case, I do not think live broadcast and cable television will ever die out.  I just think eventually the two will even out and exist with on other, both being equally as popular and award worthy.  What do you think?

Works Cited

PBS Media Shift.  Mediatwits #96: Netflix Wins Emmy Awards, Faces Threats…

September 27, 2013. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuOnUbd25_I

Stelter, Brian.  Netflix Does Well in 2013 Primetime Emmy Nominations.  The New

                       York Times.  July 18, 2013.

Vanderbilt, Tom.  The Nielsen Family is Dead.  Wired.com.  March 19, 2013.

Winslow, George.  …And the Technical Emmys Go to…  Broadcasting and Cable.

                       December 16, 2013.