LOS ANGELES: Longtime Emmy darling HBO scored more wins than any other network at Sunday’s Emmy awards, taking home 34 trophies including best drama series for the final season of its global hit “Game of Thrones.”
The accolades give HBO new bragging rights in the increasingly competitive battle for viewers of streaming video.
HBO is available on pay TV and online. Parent company AT&T Inc. plans to unveil an expanded streaming service called HBO Max next spring to compete with Netflix Inc, Amazon.com Inc’s Prime Video, new offerings from Walt Disney Co. and Apple Inc, and others.
“Game of Thrones” scored 12 awards overall, while HBO’s limited series “Chernobyl” won 10.
Amazon landed the Emmy for best comedy series and five other awards for its quirky British comedy “Fleabag,” one of the company’s 15 wins. “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” an Amazon comedy about a 1950s housewife-turned-comedian, received eight Emmys.
Netflix, the company that pioneered streaming video, finished in second place overall with 27 awards. They included best television movie for interactive film “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch,” which let viewers choose plot turns throughout.
Executive producer Charlie Brooker, while accepting the award on stage, thanked Netflix’s creative and technical team “who pulled off a magic trick.”
HBO had dominated the Emmys for years with hits such as “The Sopranos” and “Sex and the City.” It ran up a 16-year streak as the most-honored network until 2018, when Netflix and HBO tied with 23 awards each.
HBO’s Emmy dominance this year is welcome news for AT&T, a telecommunications and media conglomerate that is under pressure from activist investor Elliott Management Corp. to improve its business. AT&T in 2018 bought Time Warner, owner of HBO, CNN and Warner Bros.
Among traditional networks, the National Geographic cable channel secured eight wins, most of them for documentary “Free Solo,” and Comcast Corp’s NBC won seven.
HBO leads Emmys with 34 new honors to tout in streaming wars
HBO leads Emmys with 34 new honors to tout in streaming wars
- HBO took home the best drama series for the final season of its global hit ‘Game of Thrones’
- The accolades give HBO new bragging rights in the increasingly competitive battle for viewers of streaming video
RT Arabic to launch new TV program marking 100 years of Russia-Saudi relations
- The program will broadcast twice a month starting next month
RIYADH: Russian news network, RT Arabic, is set to launch a new analytical program, “Studio Riyadh,” from the capital next month as part of celebrations marking 100 years of diplomatic relations between Moscow and Saudi Arabia.
The program will be hosted by veteran Saudi journalist Mohammed Al-Rashed and broadcast twice a month, starting February 2026. It will provide in-depth analysis of regional and international developments, featuring prominent political and media figures.
Maya Manna, head of RT Arabic, said that the launch aligned with commemorations of the historic ties between the two countries and reflected a growing commitment to media cooperation.
“Studio Riyadh” will join RT Arabic’s lineup of international programs broadcast from major capitals including Beirut, Cairo, Washington and Paris.
Each 26-minute episode will air on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. and feature a focused dialogue on a pressing current affairs topic.
Al-Rashed, a seasoned presenter and correspondent with more than 20 years of experience, is expected to bring deep regional insight and journalistic rigor to the program.
RT Arabic, which was the first Russian news channel to broadcast 24/7 in Arabic, has grown into one of the region’s leading platforms for political analysis. It currently reaches an estimated audience of 400 million viewers and operates a broad network of regional bureaus.
