HBO, Netflix Off to Strong Emmy Starts

The primetime Emmy Awards ceremony is this Sunday, but this past weekend’s Creative Emmy Awards gave us a sneak peek into which shows and networks could be the big winners once all the Emmy envelopes are opened.

Not surprisingly, HBO led the pack with 19 Creative Emmy wins during ceremonies held this past Saturday and Sunday night, with Netflix’s 16 wins and NBC nine wins following close behind. HBO (111 nominations), Netflix (91) and NBC (64) were also the top three Emmy-nominated networks.

The top three Emmy-nominated shows also garnered the most creative Emmy wins. NBC’s venerable Saturday Night Live and HBO’s Westworld, which drew an industry-high 22 Emmy nominations --as well as Stranger Things, which drew a second-best 18 nominations –- each took home five Creative Emmy statuettes over the weekend.

Also among the big Creative Emmy award winners over the weekend were Adult Swim’s animated series Samurai Jack, Netflix’s Ava DuVernay-produced documentary 13thand HBO’s mini-series The Night Of, each with four Creative Emmy Award wins.

Of course, anything can and will most likely happen during CBS' primetime Emmys telecast Sunday, and it‘ll be interesting to see whether the frontrunners can retain their favored status and walk away with the lion’s share of primetime Emmy awards, or whether an underdog can pull off a major upset.

Networks With Multiple Creative Emmy Award Wins

NetworkTotal Awards

HBO                                                                          19

Netflix                                                                       16

NBC                                                                            9

ABC                                                                            7

Fox                                                                             5

Hulu                                                                           5

Adult Swim                                                                  4

CBS                                                                            4

FX Networks                                                                4

A&E                                                                            3

VH1                                                                            3

Amazon                                                                      2

BBC America                                                               2

ESPN                                                                          2

National Geographic                                                    2

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.