Netflix has invested big in its original content push, and now it’s paying off when it comes to accolades. The streaming giant has earned 14 Emmy nominations from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences—eight of them for “House of Cards”—including lead actor nods for Jason Bateman (“Arrested Development”), Kevin Spacey (“House of Cards”) and Robin Wright (“House of Cards”).

“We are overwhelmed with 14 nominations and honored by a warm welcome which corroborates what we have always believed, that great television is great television regardless of where, when and how it is enjoyed,” said Ted Sarandos, Netflix’ chief content officer. “We are so proud of our series creators and their groundbreaking work on ‘House of Cards,’ ‘Arrested Development’ and ‘Hemlock Grove.’” 


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“House Of Cards” was also nominated for Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series, Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series, Outstanding Cinematography, Outstanding Single Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series and Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music.

“Arrested Development” also garnered nominations for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score) and Outstanding Single Camera Picture Editing. And, the teen werewolf-Gypsy-vampire drama “Hemlock Grove” was nominated for Outstanding Special Visual Effects and Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music.

The content push is not only adding quality TV to the mix but is having a direct impact on the company’s fortunes. In the first quarter of the year, when “House of Cards” debuted, it added two million new customers, making for a total of 29.2 million members. That means that Netflix is technically the country’s largest pay-TV provider.

“The company has been adding original and exclusive programming to its streaming library, which seems to be paying off. TV series such as ‘House of Cards,’ ‘Lilyhammer’ and ‘Arrested Development’ are drawing lot of audience and attracting customers to sign up,” an investor note on Trefis pointed out. “In fact, Netflix has effectively marketed these exclusive shows to maintain its subscriber momentum.”

Netflix continues to gain in penetration: according to eMarketer (News - Alert), more than four in 10 U.S. consumers subscribed to Netflix or used a Netflix account. Cord-cutters reported watching an average 8.1 hours of Netflix content per week, while total Netflix subscribers watched 6.7 hours on average. About 20 percent of Netflix subscribers say they’ve cut the cord and dropped their cable, satellite or IPTV (News - Alert) packages.