HBO Needs Emmys
For most networks, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences awards (that’s the Emmys to y’all) is a vanity project, a television show to promote television shows, a pat on the back from one’s hard-working peers who don’t realize that almost all television is crap. And that’s keeping in mind that in the last ten years, the crap is better than its ever been.
But who really cares what show wins what Emmys? It doesn’t effect the bottom line. In theory, the extra attention the show gets tranlates into bigger ratings, which allows the network to charge more for advertising. In theory. But the variables are many there, and when the negotiating is done, an Emmy will probably make no difference in price.
However, HBO has a whole different price structure. If one guy watches the Emmys and thinks, “I should get me that HBO so I can see that ENTOURAGE” then he gives money to his cable provider and HBO gets money. Directly. The Emmys is HBO’s biggest source of income. It’s also the only arena in which television critics matter. At all.
This year’s Emmys were designed to suppress repeat winners from previous years, so the reliable flood of SOPRANOS awards weren’t possible. Even so HBO picked up several, most for one-shots like ELIZABETH I and THE GIRL IN THE CAFE, and we can rely on a steady stream of more TV that isn’t just TV, it’s HBO.
And to a much lesser extent Showtime. Get on the ball, Showtime! Who do you have to sleep with to get a few awards in this town, awards for shows that are still on? I’m not shelling out until I hear you got another DEAD LIKE ME.