The 74th annual Primetime Emmy Awards set social media abuzz on Monday night, ranking as the most social Emmys in the past five years.
Social video views were up 150% from last year, driven by both TikTok and Instagram Reels, according to data provided to TheWrap by NBC. Across NBCUniversals linear, social and digital platforms, 1.1 billion minutes of Emmys video content were consumed.
In addition to the staple “Live from E!” streams, NBCU also pushed new digital preshow initiatives on the linear channel, as well as Peacock, Twitter and TikTok. Combined, that content drove early 3.8 million views and 1.1 million video minutes watched. In total, about 2.6 million people were reached.
Specifically on E! News social platforms, social video views and post-show engagements increased by 137%, while social video minutes watched were up by about 7%.
While the 2022 Emmys made strides across digital and social, the awards show didn’t fare well in linear ratings. The broadcast hit an all-time low in viewership this year, with 5.9 million people tuning in.
It was the first time the ceremony had aired on NBC since 2018, when it secured about 10.2 million total viewers (which, at the time, was a historic low for the Emmys). That was also the last time the show aired on a Monday, since NBC is also the home of “Sunday Night Football.”
It’s worth nothing that the Emmys is generally the least-watched of the major awards shows, and all of them have taken a hit in recent years due to the pandemic. However, the Emmys had a bit of a comeback last year, making this year’s ratings decline a bit more shocking.
Monday night’s ceremony turned out to be a night of few surprises, with wins playing out largely according to predictions. In the end, it was HBO’s limited series “The White Lotus” that took home the most trophies, followed by “Ted Lasso” and “Succession.” Read the full list of winners here.
