Disney Plus Increases Awards Tally at This Year's Emmys

It was a slow and steady climb for The Walt Disney Company's (DIS) streaming platform at this year's Emmys. Disney Plus had 14 wins at the TV awards staple. That figure is an improvement from last year's tally of eight wins.

The streaming platform had headlined Disney's tally of 146 nominations, the most for any studio at this year's Emmys. The Mandalorian, a Star Wars spinoff available for streaming on Disney Plus, was nominated in 24 categories, making it the most nominated show for this year along with Netflix, Inc.'s (NFLX) The Crown. It ended up with seven wins. Wandavision, another Marvel Studios venture, also contributed to Disney Plus's overall tally with three Emmys.

Hulu, the other streaming platform in Disney's stable, won a single award. With wins for ABC, FX, and National Geographic—other networks in its stable—Disney had a grand total of 23 awards by the end of the evening.

The big winner of the evening was streaming pioneer Netflix. It racked up 44 wins—a record that was previously achieved only by CBS in 1974—for its shows. Warner Media's HBO was second with 19 wins.

The Emmy Effect on Streaming 

While streaming companies often spend enormous sums of money to create a spigot of programming for their platforms, not all of their content can stand out in a crowded carousel of viewer options. An Emmy win is considered a mark of quality programming and helps distinguish a show from competitors. It can also help draw in more subscribers to a streaming platform.

Disney is already a content powerhouse, but it has still unveiled a slate of new programming for its streaming foray to attract new audiences. The company has said it plans to pump between $8 billion to $9 billion by 2024 to produce fresh content for Disney Plus. "The single most effective way to grow our subscriber base is with great content," Bob Iger, executive chairman at Disney, told investors at a virtual webcast last year. He said that the House of Mouse prized quality over quantity. "Quality holds its value. And that has been our mantra for as long as we've been telling stories," he said.

Based on the number of wins at this year's Emmys, Netflix holds the edge among streaming platforms for quality programming. But Disney is putting its considerable resources and creative chops to work at its streaming service. "Production values and talent for our streaming content, both in front of and behind the camera, are on par with our theatrical releases," Iger said at the investor presentation. "Truly the only difference between these and our feature films is length."