Netflix’s 14 Emmy nominations mark rise of streaming video

Kevin Spacey, who stars in the Netflix series "House of Cards."
Image source: Netflix
Kevin Spacey, who stars in the Netflix series "House of Cards."

The definition of prime-time television just changed, with Netflix joining the ranks of HBO and AMC.

Online streaming network Netflix made history Thursday, picking up 14 nominations for the Primetime Emmy Awards. It's the Emmy's first major acknowledgement of digitally distributed content. The announcements also mark the rise in popularity and quality of streaming video and original content in particular—an area that Netflix, Amazon and Hulu are increasingly exploring.

While the Emmys don't directly impact Netflix's bottom line, they do bring prestige and free attention, which should help secure and attract Netflix subscribers. Investors are already wondering how many new subscribers the company's original content has drawn. And we're sure to hear questions about it, when the company reports earnings on Monday.

Each of Netflix's three original shows this year drew Emmy nods. The big winner: "House of Cards," which earned nine nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series and acting nominations for each of its leads, Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright.

Netflix's "Arrested Development" didn't do quite as well—no Best Comedy nomination. But the show did draw three nominations, including one Lead Actor in a comedy nod for Jason Bateman. And thriller "Hemlock Grove" picked up two nominations.

Netflix stock, which was at $267.83 in afternoon trading Thursday, is up 190.3 percent year-to-date. (For the latest stock price click here.)

Netflix's Emmy attention comes 20 years after the first cable show earned Emmy attention with HBO's "The Larry Sanders Show." That was a landmark for the rise of cable programming and HBO in particular.

While today's nominations mark the rise of premium digital content, Netflix still has a ways to go to catch up with HBO—the most-nominated network, with 108 nods. And Netflix's success didn't hurt HBO one bit. HBO drew 27 more nominations than last year, its highest number of nominations in nearly a decade.

The awards will be given Sept. 22. And we'll be watching to see how many statuettes Netflix brings home.

Here are some of the highlights.

Outstanding comedy series:

"The Big Bang Theory"

"Modern Family"

"Girls"

"30 Rock"

"Veep"

Lead actress in a comedy series:

Lena Dunham, "Girls"

Tina Fey, "30 Rock"

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "Veep"

Laura Dern, "Enlightened"

Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie"

Amy Poehler, "Parks and Recreation"

Lead actor in a comedy series:

Jim Parsons, "Big Bang Theory"

Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"

Louis C.K., "Louie"

Jason Bateman, "Arrested Development"

Don Cheadle, "House of Cards"

Matt LeBlanc, "Episodes"

Supporting actress in a comedy series:

Mayim Bialik, "Big Bang Theory"

Jane Lynch, "Glee"

Sofia Vergara, "Modern Family"

Julie Bowen, "Modern Family"

Merritt Wever, "Nurse Jackie"

Jane Krakowski, "30 Rock"

Anna Chlumsky, "Veep"

Supporting actor in a comedy series:

Adam Driver, "Girls"

Jesse Tyler Ferguson, "Modern Family"

Ed O'Neill, "Modern Family"

Ty Burrell, "Modern Family"

Bill Hader, "Saturday Night Live"

Tony Hale, "Veep"

Outstanding drama series:

"Breaking Bad"

"Game of Thrones"

"Homeland"

"Downton Abbey"

"House of Cards"

"Mad Men"

Lead actress in a drama series:

Claire Danes, "Homeland"

Connie Britton, "Nashville"

Kerry Washington, "Scandal"

Michelle Dockery, "Downton Abbey"

Vera Farmiga, "Bates Motel"

Elisabeth Moss, "Mad Men"

Robin Wright, "House of Cards"

Lead actor in a drama series:

Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"

Hugh Bonneville, "Downton Abbey"

Damian Lewis, "Homeland"

Kevin Spacey, "House of Cards"

Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"

Jeff Daniels, "The Newsroom"

Supporting actress in a drama series:

Anna Gunn, "Breaking Bad"

Maggie Smith, "Downton Abbey"

Emilia Clarke, "Game of Thrones"

Christine Baranski, "The Good Wife"

Morena Baccarin, "Homeland"

Christina Hendricks, "Mad Men"

Supporting actor in a drama series:

Bobby Cannavale, "Boardwalk Empire"

Jonathan Banks, "Breaking Bad"

Aaron Paul, "Breaking Bad"

Jim Carter, "Downton Abbey"

Peter Dinklage, "Game of Thrones"

Mandy Patinkin, "Homeland"

Outstanding reality—competition program:

"The Amazing Race"

"Dancing With the Stars"

"Project Runway"

"So You Think You Can Dance"

"Top Chef"

"The Voice"

Outstanding variety series:

"The Colbert Report"

"The Daily Show With Jon Stewart"

"Jimmy Kimmel Live"

"Late Night With Jimmy Fallon"

"Real Time With Bill Maher"

"Saturday Night Live"

Outstanding miniseries or movie:

"American Horror Story"

"Behind the Candelabra"

"The Bible"

"Phil Spector"

"Political Animals"

"Top of the Lake"

The full list of Emmy nominations is available on the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences website.

—By CNBC's Julia Boorstin. Follow her on Twitter: @JBoorstin

—CNBC's Jeff Kagan and TODAY's Anna Chen contributed to this story.