The Emmy Awards’ viewership decline continues.
According to early Nielsen figures, 4.3 million people watched the Emmys on Fox on Monday night, the lowest viewership in the show’s history. The previous low for the Emmys was 5.9 million viewers in 2022.
The ratings have pushed the Emmys perilously close to the Tony Awards, which have historically garnered a much smaller audience. However, the Tony Awards drew 4.3 million viewers in June, up from the prior year.
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The final Emmy statistics, which will be published on Wednesday, are likely to improve slightly from the preliminary figures.
The Emmys had a lot going against them. The ceremony was postponed by four months due to last year’s writers and actor strikes, the event’s biggest significant postponement in more over two decades.
Indeed, the competition was fierce on Monday night. The Emmys faced out against a Monday night football playoff game and the Iowa caucuses.
The football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers attracted more than 28 million viewers, according to Nielsen. According to preliminary Nielsen data, between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m., approximately 4.7 million people watched the Iowa returns on the three major cable news networks.
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The Emmys were also up against competition from other awards events. All of the main winners on Monday night—”Succession,” “The Bear,” and “Beef”—were acknowledged at the Golden Globes last week and the Critics Choice Awards on Sunday night.
Even still, the Emmys struggled to compete with a rebroadcast of a network television show. According to early Nielsen figures, a repeat of “NCIS” on CBS at 8 p.m. on Monday night got 4.9 million people, with a lead-in from another playoff football game.
Most other big award programs, despite lower viewing statistics than a decade ago, have recently seen ratings rebound. Oscar ratings have risen for the past two years in a row. So have the Grammys. Even the scandal-plagued Golden Globes experienced a significant rise in viewership last week.
The Emmys, which aired on Fox and was hosted by Anthony Anderson, cannot be blamed. The presentation received generally positive feedback, with critics praising the amount of cast reunions — including “Cheers,” “Ally McBeal,” and “Grey’s Anatomy” — held in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the awards.
The Emmys won’t be gone long. The next event will be held in September and televised on ABC.
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