I watch the Emmys the same way I watch the Superbowl. I'm a little curious, but mostly just because everyone else seems to care about it so much. This year I am going to be watching because I have a prediction that "House of Cards" is going to win in one of the big categories. The Emmys are voted on by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences - a group made up of more than 15,000 actors, directors, producers, and other people with various jobs you would see listed in the credits of a television show. This is a group who has come to understand that their best interests are served by having new distribution outlets such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, XBox, YouTube, Yahoo, Hulu, etc…

These "over the top" outlets have been thriving for years as distribution outlets for non-original content and consumers have fully embraced them. Binge-viewing of TV shows is now a mainstream occurrence and the ability to catch up on previous seasons is the reason why shows like "Breaking Bad" continue to gain more viewers in each consecutive season. More recently these companies have started to create original programming, recognizing it is the biggest driver of new subscribers and the best way to reduce churn. Critical recognition is the only thing missing to fully legitimize these companies as producers of quality content.

I think that either Kevin Spacey will win best actor, or "House of Cards" will win best drama series. It's going to be tough because while "House of Cards" was a great show and Kevin Spacey gave a compelling performance, they are still underdogs compared to the other nominees in both categories. But I believe the voting body for the Emmys will act in its own best interests. For many voters, even if they think another nominee is more deserving than "House of Cards", it will be hard for them not to reward the nominee that will ultimately deliver more work and more opportunities for themselves and their peers.

UPDATE: I was wrong! The biggest win for HoC was David Fincher for "Outstanding Director For A Drama Series". However, I was correct in my prediction that I don't really care about or watch the Emmys. I read about the winners this morning. Last night I was watching "Breaking Bad" like everyone else.