Emmys Draw Record-Low Viewership

LOS ANGELES, CA — NBC's coverage of the Primetime Emmy Awards drew record-low viewership, according to live-plus-same-day figures released by Nielsen Tuesday.

Monday's ceremony from the Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles averaged 10.212 million viewers, erasing the previous low of 11.394 set in 2016 when it aired on ABC and matched last year when it aired on CBS.

The 2016 and 2017 ceremonies aired opposite "Sunday Night Football," while this year's ceremony aired opposite an ESPN "Monday Night Football" game, which is customarily less-watched than "Sunday Night Football."

The 5 p.m. start in the Pacific Time Zone meant many potential viewers were not at home for a least a portion of the ceremony, a challenge the Emmys did not face the previous two years when it aired on a Sunday.

Viewership for nearly all forms of programming has declined in recent years, both partially the result of increased viewership of streamed versions of programming simultaneously broadcast over the air and viewership of exclusively streamed programming.

ABC's coverage of the Oscars on March 4 drew record-low viewership, 26.541 million viewers, a 19.6 percent drop from the 33.001-million average for the 2017 ceremony.

CBS' coverage of the Grammys averaged its smallest audience since 2009, 19.803 million viewers, dropping 24 percent from the 26.071 million average from the 2017 ceremony, the most-watched since 2014.

Despite the record-low viewership, the Emmys gave NBC its largest audience for a Monday since Feb. 27, 2017, outside of the Winter Olympics.

The viewership also topped the evening's combined average viewership for CBS (3.5 million), ABC (3.2 million) and Fox (2.5 million).

The Primetime Emmy Awards annually rotate among the four major broadcast networks.

City News Service; Photo by: Paul Drinkwater/NBC