The network – which helped usher in TV's so-called Golden Age, with countless honours for the likes of Sex and the City, The Sopranos, Six Feet Under and True Blood – failed to pick up a single award for the first time since 1991.

Ironically, HBO had led all TV networks with 14 nominations on the night, largely behind its fan-favourites Game of Thrones and Veep and popular newcomer Westworld.

Instead, the TV spoils were shared among streaming giants and burgeoning cable stars.

Netflix picked up dual awards for The Crown, its big-budget bio-drama about Queen Elizabeth II's early reign, as did BBC's miniseries collaboration with AMC, the John Le Carre adaptation The Night Manager. Billy Bob Thornton meanwhile earned a prize for Goliath, Amazon's slick new legal drama from genre wiz David E. Kelley.

But HBO's biggest emerging competition might be FX, the network that made its name with Louis CK's comedy Louie and the recent Fargo reboot.

FX scored four big nods on the night: two for miniseries The People Vs OJ Simpson: American Crime Story and another couple for Atlanta, including best comedy and best actor for its star Donald Glover.

HBO is notoriously unpopular with the Globes' Hollywood Foreign Press Association, who generally favour new shows over established stars. It tends to perform better at the annual Emmys, where it has earned the most nominations of any network for 16 years straight now – although FX tied its six-prize haul at last year's ceremony.

While the TV wars are waging in Hollywood, there is some promising news for local viewers today: SBS announced that Atlanta will be "coming soon" to SBS Viceland and SBS On Demand.

The Globes winner, which wrapped up its acclaimed first season run in the US in November, has remained criminally unavailable in Australia, at least for those without access to dubious Russian streaming sites and solid pop-up blockers.

An airdate for the show's premiere on SBS has yet to be confirmed.

Created by and starring comedian Glover (also known as rapper Childish Gambino and Star Wars' new Lando Calrissian), the series follows college dropout Earn, played by Glover, who moves back to his Georgia hometown to latch onto his cousin Paper Boi's burgeoning rap career.

The series was a fixture on 2016's best-of year-end lists, with trade mag Variety calling it "a finished, cinematic and beautiful production that may be one of the best new shows".