Ratings for the latest Emmy Awards broadcast dropped to an all-time low. The virtual-format event, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, actually garnered 6.1 million American viewers. Comparing it from last year, this year’s Emmys dropped about 13 percent.
The 2020 Primetime Emmys
Last year, Nielsen reported that the Emmy Awards gathered 7 million viewers at the time of release. But this year, even amid people staying at home, the viewership numbers still sank, becoming the Emmys with the lowest ratings of any year. It also continued the downwards trend in terms of declining viewership for years.
Primetime Emmy awards show ratings drop to all-time low https://t.co/SDgWiF3nKJ
— CNBC (@CNBC) September 21, 2020
The prestigious awards show for primetime programming ran against NBA Playoffs and Sunday Night Football.
The ‘Pand-Emmys’
The 72nd primetime Emmys, which premiered on September 21, also serves as the first major awards event in the entertainment amid the health crisis. The virtual Emmys actually telecasted live, with the nominees awaiting the results from home through a similar fashion with online conference meetings. So, no one walked at the red carpet.
“The world may be terrible, but TV has never been better,” Kimmel said.
The Canadian comedy series “Schitt’s Creek” won seven major awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series.
Downward Trend in Emmys Ratings
Forbes mentioned several factors that could influence the continuous decline in the awards show’s ratings. Among the likely reasons include a similar slump in cable and satellite TV subscriptions. Consequently, viewership for the major networks also plummeted.
Moreover, Forbes noted that the oversaturation of TV programming could also affect the downwards trend. The publication said that last year, scripted programming rose to 532. That measures more than half of the amount from 2010, with only 216. In turn, the viewership divided, and the popularity of the shows dwindled. Thus, interest in the awards show lowers.
Meanwhile, Vulture suspected that one factor could be the pandemic. Networks relied on reruns since the health crisis abrupted many productions, delaying the broadcast of fresh episodes. Therefore, as Vulture noted, viewership declined until the Emmys, which also wasn’t heavily promoted by ABC.