Emmy Viewership Falls To New Low Of 6.4 Million As ‘Schitt’s Creek’ & HBO Rule COVID-19-Dominated Ceremony – Update
2nd UPDATE, Sept. 22, 9:42 AM:Â Just when you thought it was over, the 2020 Emmys may actually finally be over – at least the ratings
Feeling the sting of the least watched and lowest rated Emmys ever on Sunday, ABC churned out some additional numbers this morning. As host Jimmy Kimmel lowered everyone’s expectations for the near virtual ceremony in past weeks, let me do something similar here. The change from the final ratings for the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards yesterday and today are minor, and the show is still the lowest rated and least watched ever.
With that, Nielsen pulled in the last stragglers so to speak and adjusted the data to an average of 6.4 million viewers and a 1.3/7 rating among adults 18-49. Or put another way, that’s up 8% in the key demo and 5% in total audience from the previous final numbers of Monday morning.
UPDATED, 10:24 PM: Despite going virtual across the globe, the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards went off without a significant technical glitch Sunday night. After setting up over 100 cameras in nominees’ homes to cover 23 categories, the final numbers are in for the Jimmy Kimmel-hosted show, and they remain a record low for the small screen’s biggest night.
With 6.1 million viewers and a 1.2 rating among adults 18-49 in time adjusted results, the 8-11:06 PM ET show managed to prove host Kimmel right and beat last year’s previous low.
On a ceremony dominated by a Schitt’s Creek sweep, plus HBO’s Succession and Watchmen, the 2020 Emmys were down a hard 25% in the demo and 12% in total audience from Game of Thrones-winning and host-free 71st Primetime Emmy Awards.
Last year was the first time the Emmys ever went below 7 million viewers. Based on this year’s results, that may one day seem like a Mount Everest.
PREVIOUSLY, 8:14 AM: Besides the obvious changes in format and technical reach due to the coronavirus pandemic, Jimmy Kimmel’s third time as host saw a lot of firsts at the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday.
For one, there was a host again after the TV Academy’s show ceremony tried to be like the 2019 Oscars and go without a frontman or frontwoman last year. Then there was the unprecedented sweep by Canadian comedy Schitt’s Creek, including being the first import from the Great White North to win a top series category. Additionally, with big victories for HBO’s Watchmen, Sunday’s Emmys had record wins for African-American actors.
Speaking of HBO, the premium cabler’s upset in the Lead Actress in a Drama Series by Euphoria’s Zendaya made the Disney alum at 24 the youngest winner ever in the category.
Once again, the Emmys were facing off against Sunday Night Football, just like last year. However, with the Emmys also matched up again the NBA playoffs for the first time (Los Angeles Lakers-Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals) there was one particular similarity and difference this year: As predicted by Kimmel, the Emmys hit an all-time ratings low, dropping 14% in viewers and 33% among adults 18-49 from the previous all-time low of last year.
In early numbers, the more than three-hour ceremony snared an audience of 5.11 million and a 1.0 rating in the key demographic for ABC. These are fast affiliate numbers, which will be adjusted and updated in final data expected later today, but it is still going to be a steep and perhaps impossible climb to top 2019’s depths.
Broadcast on Fox, last year’s 71st Primetime Emmy Awards ended up with 6.9 million viewers and a 1.6 rating among the 18-49s That was a significant double-digit drop from the 2018 Emmys on NBC, which aired on a Monday.
Looking at the last time ABC hosted the Emmys, last night’s show was down 47% in viewership and 60% in the key demo from the early numbers of the 2016 ceremony. Marking Kimmel’s second time as Emmy host, that September 18, 2016 show, which was held on a Sunday and did face SNF, ended up with an audience of 11.38 million and a demo rating of 2.8, both lows at the time.
We will of course update this year’s Primetime Emmy Awards ratings as we get more data today.
In terms of last night’s Sunday Night Football, the NBC and NFL flagship show had the hometown Seattle Seahawks beating the now Tom Brady-less New England Patriots 35-30 in an audience-free game due to COVID-19 safety protocols.
Dominated by Seahawks QB Russell Wilson, the often-thrilling gridiron matchup also saw the Patriots and their QB Cam Newton struggle the whole night against the Seahawks’ wall of defense – as you can see:
