The Emmys telecast on ABC reached nearly seven million U.S. viewers, a jump of more than 50 per cent from the record low of the last ceremony in January and the biggest audience since 2021, according to numbers released Monday by the network.
Sunday night’s 76th Primetime Emmy Awards, in which “Shogun,” “Hacks” and “Baby Reindeer” won top awards, was back in its traditional mid-September spot after the rare January ceremony that was delayed four months by Hollywood’s strikes.
That show, which aired on Fox, reached a record low audience of 4.3 million viewers.
ABC said Monday that the Sunday night show hosted by Eugene and Dan Levy reached 6.87 million U.S. viewers, a jump of 54 per cent despite competition from NFL football.
The height-of-the-pandemic Emmys in 2020 on ABC, with no in-person audience and remote nominees, set a new low at the time with 6.1 million U.S. viewers. The show bounced back the following year with 7.4 million Americans for CBS with help from an NFL game lead-in.
But NBC’s 2022 telecast dropped to 5.9 million U.S. viewers, followed by the further decline in January of this year.
The Emmys telecast rotates annually between the four broadcast networks.
The last time the Emmys reached more than 10 million viewers was 2018, when it drew in 10.2 million Americans. The show had 21.8 million U.S. viewers in 2000, a level it’s unlikely ever to reach again.