Regardless of whether you liked the awards telecast or not, the The Emmy Awards again put the spotlight on how much TV has changed over the 20+ years.
First, take a look at which networks won the most awards... Most winners by network: HBO, 34; Netflix, 27; Amazon, 15; National Geographic, 8; NBC, 7; CNN, 5; FX, 5; CBS, 4; Fox, 4; Hulu, 4; VH1, 4; YouTube, 4.
One of the major broadcast networks -- ABC -- got only one Emmy Sunday night. And the four broadcast networks combined took home only 16 awards -- less than half of what HBO won.
But the big news is how many awards the streaming networks got -- Netflix, Amazon, Hulu. (Who even heard of Hulu five years ago?) The streamers dominated the awards.
Don't cry for the networks, though. Even if they don't dominate the awards anymore, they're still pulling big audiences and even bigger ad dollars. Broadcast TV isn't going to disappear, although the focus on the subscription (HBO and Showtime) and streaming services like Netflix and Amazon is forcing the broadcast nets to up their game in terms of program quality. They're not just lowest common denominator programming anymore.
I can remember when top film actors and directors wouldn't go near TV. But not anymore - not for a long time. TV programs now feature big screen stars like Michael Douglas and Jane Fonda.
TV (if you include all the ways programs get onto your TV screen) has come so far from the time in 1961 when FCC Commissioner Newton Minnow called it a "vast wasteland." TV now seems to be in a new golden age, which is good for all of us.