Netflix, which used the power of the Emmy Awards to build its original series dominance, is in a bit of a slump. 

Not only are its subscriber and revenue growth figures down, but the number of Emmy nominations Netflix took home Tuesday was way off too, falling to 105 nods from 129 last year ... and a whopping 160 two years ago. 

You can see a partial list of nominations for the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards  here: HBO’s ‘Succession’ Dominates 2022 Emmy Nominations

Netflix received best drama series nominations Tuesday for Stranger Things, Ozark and Squid Game, with Ozark's Laura Linney, Justin Bateman and Julia Garner gaining recognition in the dramatic performer categories, and Squid Game thespians Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo and Jung Ho-yeon also getting performer nods. 

Netflix's Inventing Anna received a nomination for best limited series, with star Garner also picking up well-deserved recognition in the limited series actress category for her portrayal of con artist Anna Delvey. 

Also, Killing Eve's Jodie Comer took a lead drama actress nod. And notably, Stranger Things went unnoticed in both the actor and director categories. 

Beyond those nominations, however, Netflix was largely overshadowed in the major categories by HBO, which came away with an industry-leading 140 nominations this year, dominating comedy categories for which Netflix was utterly bereft. 

Keeping with a broader business trend, Netflix’s declines can largely be attributed to the rise of streaming competition. 

Hulu, which had averaged just under 24 Emmy nominations the previous three years, more than doubled its output with 58 total nods, good for third place overall, driven by the ensemble comedy success of Only Murders in the Building, which not only received best comedy series recognition but also best comedy series actor nods for Martin Short and Steve Martin. 

Hulu was also particularly strong in the limited series realm, with Pam & Tommy, The Dropout and Dopesick each getting love. 

Apple TV Plus also continued to build its presence, rising from 35 noms last year to 51 Tuesday, driven primarily by drama series Severance and the continued popularity of comedy Ted Lasso.

Even Roku got in on the Emmy act, scoring its first ever nominations for special Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas and a Bill Burr comedy special. 

The biggest competitive factor, however, was HBO, which saw its nods rise from 107 last year to 140 Tuesday, powered by a powerful slate of dramas (Euphoria and Succession) and comedies (Curb Your Enthusiasm, Hacks, Atlanta, Insecure and Barry).

Notably, the fade of the Big Four broadcast networks continued, with no network getting 30 nominations. Last year’s broadcast leader, NBC, saw its nominations total decline from 46 last year to 28 on Tuesday. 

CBS had the most noms of the broadcasters with 29. ▪️

Despite a week of upbeat virtual reality developments, promises and encouragement -- the first Disney-backed Marvel VR game, six Emmy nominations for VR "experiences," an endorsement from a top streaming media packager plus a big (albeit temporary) discount from Oculus -- the outlook for the immersive technology continues to baffle media analysts.

The recent string of frothy announcements comes just a few weeks after Ericsson released a generally effusive outlook about VR, especially its value in video programming.

So while technology and programming suppliers continue to proclaim VR's looming role in entertainment (as well as in industrial, medical and other professional applications), media operators are still going slow in planning for the bandwidth and transmission requirements that VR will require. For now, much of the discussion still revolves around the near-VR (but usually not immersive) presentations of 360⁰ cameras, increasingly showing up as thumbnail videos in social media and other online feeds.

Nonetheless, the mid-summer bump of simultaneous VR developments served as a reminder that this technology could still become a $100 billion global industry by 2020 (as Nokia forecasts) and reach 49.2 million American by 2019, according to a report by eMarketer.

At Disney's D23 Expo in Anaheim, Calif., last weekend, the studio plunged back into the games category (from which it had withdrawn last year) via its subsidiary Marvel. It unveiled "Marvel Powers United VR," which will debut next year. Gamers can play at varying skill levels using Marvel characters such as Rocket Raccoon, Deadpool, Captain Marvel and The Hulk. Disney has partnered with Facebook-owned Oculus.

Related > CTA Projects Record Revenue for VR

A day before D23 began, when the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced nominees for the 69th Emmy Awards, VR was in the running with six projects nominated in the "Original Interactive Program" and "Creative Achievement in Interactive Media Within a Scripted Program" categories (the academy hasn't created a VR category).

In the first category, all three nominations came from Oculus, some with a partner. One of those nominees is The People's House, featuring a White House tour with Barack and Michelle Obama. The second category included The Mr. Robot Virtual Reality Experience from USA Universal Cable Productions, Stranger Things VR Experience from Netflix and CBS Digital, and The Simpsons – Planet of the Couches from Gracie Films, 20th Century Fox Television and Google Spotlight Stories.

More Content, Lower Prices
Separately, Oculus announced that it will put $50 million of the $250 million already committed to VR content into “non-gaming, experiential VR content," according to published reports.

Meanwhile Oculus just slashed its equipment pricing. It has temporarily bundled its Rift headset and Touch controller into a $399 package, about $200 lower than the $598 price announced in March, which itself marked a drop from the $799 Oculus kit price early this year. The company said the summer-long promotional pricing seeks to attract potential customers who "may have been sitting on the sideline because of price," as well as viewers who have been waiting for more apps and games to become available.

Related > VR Equipment Market Mixed: Study

And at a July 18 webinar on "How to Produce, Deliver, Monetize & Experience VR Content,” NeuLion and Nokia executives urged media companies to plunge into VR opportunities.

VR has moved "beyond simple streaming,” said NeuLion executive VP Chris Wagner, because "there’s so much more to do to interact with the viewer” to enhance the video-viewing experience.

“Compelling content is [vital] to make sure that you have that most immersive experience,” added Malachi Bierstein, head of VR sales at Nokia. 

“Without the content, not really much else matters," Bierstein said in published reports from the webinar. "So, really that compelling content is going to be the ultimate driver of VR adoption."

Their pleas for high-quality video content backed up findings from an extensive Ericsson "Merged Reality" study published a few weeks earlier.

That study found that 54% of respondents believe VR devices will become the new screens for video. About the same number (53%) expect video to be one of the most popular uses for VR.

Notably, current "early adopters" were significantly more enthusiastic than survey respondents who "are planning to use a headset," but the overall optimism is promising for a product that currently has a very limited footprint. (According to eMarketer, only 2.9% of Americans now use a VR headset at least once-per-month, a figure that will grow to just 5.2% by 2019.)

Related: Facebook Dives Deeper Into AR

Many analysts still believe that augmented reality -- a more limited, less expensive approach to content enhancement that doesn't require special headsets and other gear -- will make its mark in the mass media well before VR. As an example: During next month's total solar eclipse, the Weather Channel will use AR during its all-day coverage to explain the science of how the eclipse develops.

Perhaps even more pertinent: A Facebook group that has focused on VR for several years this week expanded its name to "Virtual and Augmented Reality."

On Thursday (July 13), the Television Academy will announce nominees for the 69th Annual Emmy Awards, and many in the media are busy predicting which shows and actors will vie for television’s most coveted awards.

While the majority of nominations in the prestigious drama and comedy categories will most likely go to established shows and actors, there’s a distinct possibility that an unusually strong rookie class could join — and in some cases usurp — category favorites on the nominations stage.

On the comedy front, last year’s Emmy winner Veep and previous winners like Amazon’s Transparent will most likely garner their annual nominations, along with ABC’s Black-ish. But FX’s Atlanta is sure to get some love from voters given its 2017 Golden Globe wins. Other new series that could make a best comedy series nomination run include HBO’s Insecure and Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Two HBO actresses and Golden Globe nominees, Issa Rae (Insecure) and Sarah Jessica Parker (Divorce) could take the first step toward unseating five-time best comedy actress winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus of Veep by securing nominations. Atlanta’s Donald Glover and Brockmire’s Hank Azaria will look to gain a shot at challenging two-time winner Jeffrey Tambor of Transparent for best actor in a comedy.

The absence of HBO’s Game of Thrones — ineligible this year because its new season starts after the May 31 deadline — leaves no standout favorite for best drama series. While veterans House of Cards (Netflix), The Americans (FX) and Better Call Saul (AMC) are expected to contend, several newcomers could upset the apple cart, including NBC’s breakout hit This Is Us; Netflix’s Stranger Things and The Crown; Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale; HBO’s Westworld; Starz’s American Gods; and CBS All Access’s The Good Fight.

The Crown’s Claire Foy — who won the 2017 best actress Golden Globe — is a contender for an Emmy nomination, along with The Handmaid’s Tale’s Elisabeth Moss and Westworld’s Evan Rachel Wood.

On the men’s side, This Is Us cast member Sterling K. Brown, fresh off last year’s Emmy win in a limited series for his role in FX’s The People v. O.J. Simpson, as well as Anthony Hopkins (Westworld) and Dan Stevens (FX’s Legion), could break through. Of course, Emmy judges’ potential lack of familiarity with these new series could ultimately hurt their chances.

Still, for several freshman shows Thursday morning’s Emmy nominations announcement could be a coronation of sorts.

Get complete coverage of #TCA16.

Just over a year since his prediction about peak TV leveling off this year, John Landgraf, CEO of FX Networks, said the total number of scripted shows continues to rise.

Landgraf said the number of original scripted shows is around 430-450 currently, and likely to hit 500 next year.

“We could well see the growth trend carry on into the 2017-2018 calendar year,” he said. "I stick by my prediction that we'll see peak TV decline within 2-1/2 years. 2019 at the latest."

Landgraf envisions the total eventually leveling off around 400.

The exec noted FX’s strong showing in the Emmy nominations, particularly when factoring in that the network’s programming budget, he said, is a third of HBO’s and a sixth of Netflix’s.

Read more at broadcastingcable.com.

Netflix has come a long way since the 2013 launch of House of Cards, with the over-the-top service set to offer 475 hours of original programming this year, Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos said.

Speaking during Netflix’s Television Critics Association tour session Monday, Sarandos said the OTT service, which only began offering original programming some 30 months ago, will have as many as 16 scripted shows, 12 documentary shows and 17 kids-targeted series on-air in 2015.

Sarandos talks about the value of original programming at #TCA15 in an original "MCN One Question for..." video.

Netflix’s original programming has been nominated for 34 Emmy awards, he added.

Netflix’s decision to build on its originals slate rather than on acquisitions of established shows (similar to Hulu’s recent acquisition of Seinfeld) provides the company with more flexibility in scheduling and international distribution, he said.

Sarandos would not reveal viewership numbers for any of the company’s original shows, although he said its comedy series Orange Is the New Black – the first to be Emmy nominated in both the comedy and drama categories – is the most watched original on the service.

Netflix is still bullish on its four-film deal with Adam Sandler despite the soft opening of his latest theatrical film, Pixels, Sarandos said, adding that Sandler’s appeal is very strong internationally.

Sarandos also opined on other Netflix original content:

--He said there’s still an opportunity for Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen to appear in the OTT service’s Fuller House comedy series. The series re-unites most of the cast from the 1980’s Full House series except for the Olsen twins, who have previously said they would not appear in the reboot.

--Netflix will roll out a Marvel-themed series approximately every six months, including new seasons of current shows. The service has already announced a second season of Daredevil and will debut Jessica Jones later this year.

--Sarandos called “unfortunate” and “unfair” the controversy surrounding the filming of the Sandler-produced original movie Ridiculous 6 in which several Native American extras walked off the set due to what they felt as culturally insensitive script writing.  

“I think when people see Ridiculous 6 they’ll see the show speaks for itself in terms of its treatment of American Indians.” he said.