Kevin Spacey says 'House of Cards' proves TV smarter than music

If Kevin Spacey seems a little pleased with himself Thursday, it's for good reason.

The "House of Cards" producer and star has a lot of be proud of, as his little Netflix show made history by becoming the first online-only program to be nominated for an outstanding series Emmy.

"For the Academy to recognize us, being the new kids on the block, is fantastic," he said, after finding out "House of Cards" earned nine Emmy nominations, including a Lead Actor nod for his work as Rep. Frank Underwood.

"I think that because of this, more companies that have been primarily or specifically in the portal business will want to get into the original content business," he said. "Because if you're going to compete, that's what you'll have to do."

The Netflix model is an Internet-centric approach to entertainment, embraced by the industry at worst as an interesting experiment and, at best, a visionary and necessary step in the evolution of television.

"We are giving the audience what they want, which is the freedom to discover it the way they want to discover it," he said, referring to Netflix's decision to release each season of its original content all at once.

"And I think it also in some measure shows that we have learned the lesson that the music industry didn't learn -- that if you give people what they want, when they want it, in the form they want it in, at a reasonable price, then they'll buy it and they won't steal it," he said.

"Why is 'Game of Thrones' the single most pirated show in the history of television? Because people can't get it fast enough."

"House of Cards" is halfway through shooting its second season, which is expected to "air" next year.