Emmys Settle for 11.3 Million Total Viewers, a New All-Time Low
That’s down more than a half-million from last year, or five percent
Tony Maglio | September 19, 2016 @ 11:18 AM
Last Updated: September 19, 2016 @ 12:50 PM
The Emmys have officially hit a new low, pulling in 11.3 million total viewers last night, according to Nielsen.
Although no one at ABC should be over-the-moon over the result, that’s the broadcaster’s best non-sports tally in the time slot since February’s Oscars. So, there’s some (slight) silver lining.
Last year, the Emmys nabbed 11.9 million overall audience members on Fox — that was the program’s previous basement benchmark. Not any more. Last night’s version slipped 5 percent versus the prior Emmys. While Fox also had “Sunday Night Football” to contend with in its 2015 turn, the Andy Samberg-hosted version benefited with an NFL coverage lead-in. The Disney broadcaster is the only of the Big 4 networks that doesn’t have any NFL rights.
For what it’s worth (not much, admittedly), 25.9 million unique viewers tuned in to at least some of the Emmys, meaning for six minutes or longer. The only problem was, ABC needed them to stick around for three primetime hours.
Socially, the best-of-TV celebration hosted by Jimmy Kimmel saw 1.4 million people generate 2.7 million social media interactions across Facebook and Twitter, also per the TV ratings currency company.
Read Sunday’s primetime fast affiliate ratings here; metered market households for the Emmys can be found here.
Emmys 2016: 9 Best and Worst Moments (Photos)
Whether you loved or hated the 2016 Emmys, you had to admit they made a big impression. Here are some of the best and worst moments.
BEST
Matt Damon razzed host Jimmy Kimmel for not winning in the host category. The two are engaged in a long-running joke about pretending to despise each other.
BEST
Leslie Jones addressed her recent hacking problem with a comic bit costarring the accountants who guard the Emmy results.
WORST
After Jimmy Kimmel accused "Apprentice" creator Mark Burnett of giving Donald Trump a path to the presidency, Burnett made some jokes that basically repeated Kimmel's.
BEST
"People vs. O.J. Simpson" winner Courtney B. Vance gave a big shout-out to his special lady, Angela Bassett.
WORST
Aziz Ansari was cut off before he was able to make a speech - and then in a seemingly ad-libbed moment, bounded offstage and back into his seat. He also did a bit in which he pretended to support Donald Trump that fell a little flat.
BEST
Former presidential candidate Jeb Bush provided by far the most unpredictable moment of the night -- he turned up as an Uber driver who asks Jimmy Kimmel what it's like to be nominated.
BEST
Julia Louis-Dreyfus of "Veep" held back tears during a heartfelt acceptance speech that paid tribute to her father, who died Friday. (Here's some detail about his amazing life.)
BEST
"Transparent" producer Jill Soloway's acceptance speech talked about the crucial issues facing the trans community.
WORST
Louie Anderson scored a major upset with his win in "Baskets." But his loud acceptance speech felt too much like a list, and wasn't as inspired as his performance.
