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The Primetime Emmy Awards are stuck between a rock and a hard place.
In an effort to keep TV’s biggest night tighter and more engaging, the Television Academy moved seven categories from the primetime telecast to the Creative Arts Emmys, which take place the weekend prior to the main show. The telecast often extends past its three-hour mark, so on paper, it sounded like a reasonable solution.
But the switch, which TV Academy chair Cris Abrego told TheWrap had been in the works for 20 years, sparked backlash across Hollywood. The DGA, the WGA and SAG-AFTRA wrote in a joint statement that cutting the categories “devalues the contributions of the talented people the Academy is meant to honor.”
The TV Academy held firm to its decision, but the switch didn’t help move the ratings needle for the show. Viewership for Monday’s Emmys slid down to 6.7 million viewers across NBC and Peacock, according to preliminary Nielsen figures. That’s down 11.7% from the 7.6 million viewers brought in by the 77th ceremony last year, even if we compared it to last year’s early viewership numbers, the show would still be down nearly 10%.
The Emmys’ stark ratings declines show that shaking up a telecast to attract a bigger crowd is a losing battle, with the biggest winners over the last few years beloved by critics more than audiences. The changes only ended up alienating tradition-loving audiences who do tune in and watch, and the extra time spent on cheesy jokes, skits and a surprise Taylor Swift cameo — albeit recorded — failed to draw a bigger audience.
Granted, the Emmys aired on a Monday rather than the typical Sunday because of football — and it competed against Monday Night Football for viewers. But after all controversy generated within Hollywood, taking out the categories didn’t materially change the show. The program ended about three minutes early, and it would’ve wrapped even earlier if Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey hadn’t been asked to riff for a few painful minutes before presenting the night’s final award.
The latest Emmy ratings slowdown comes as industry eyes are on what comes next for the telecast, now that the current deal for it to alternate between the four major broadcast networks ended with this year’s show. The TV Academy is in advanced talks with Prime Video to stream the ceremony starting in 2027, which would strengthen the show’s accessibility and mirror how the Emmys have favored streaming content over broadcast.
Recent years have seen the broadcast networks’ parent company stream the show on their streaming arm (this year’s program played on NBC and Peacock), but finding a reliable online destination is a necessity should the Emmys hope togrow its audience. Should the Emmys move over to Prime Video, it would follow suit with the Oscars, which will move over from ABC to YouTube starting with the 101st Academy Awards in 2029. The Actor Awards (fka SAG Awards) moved from TNT to Netflix a few years ago, though its audience is significantly smaller.
Compared to the other major awards shows, the Emmys aren’t too far off from where they were prior to the pandemic, with 6.9 million viewers tuning in for the 2019 show. By contrast, the Oscars slid from nearly 30 million viewers in 2019 to nearly 18 million earlier this year, and the Grammys went down from 20 million viewers in 2019 to just over 14 million this year.
The Emmys telecast has teetered between 6-7 million viewers for the most part with the exception of the strike-delayed show in January 2024, which saw the show reach a record low of 4.3 million.
As prestige TV continues to woo critics and Emmy voters, it also further separates the everyday viewer from the fanfare, especially as fewer titles take home bigger and bigger hauls. Critical hit “Widow’s Bay” took home 14 Emmys — leaping over the record set last year by “The Studio” as the comedy series with the most wins in a single year. But the Apple show was also the least watched comedy nominee during the Television Academy’s eligibility window of June 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026.
Instead it was ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” that stood as the most-watched show in the comedy category, which continues to be nominated but hasn’t won since 2023. But elevated medical drama “The Pitt” does both. It took home the series win and lead actor win, was the most-watched show among the nominated dramas.
The surprises within Monday night’s show hold a beam of hope, however, especially when TV icon Allison Janney won for her performance in “The Diplomat” in a category crowded with “The Pitt” actresses. Or when Sally Field won for Netflix movie “Remarkably Bright Creatures,” illustrating the possibility for wins outside of the frontrunners.
Will moving to streaming help audiences find the Emmys again? The solution likely isn’t that simple.
“DWTS: The Next Pro” finishes strong
“Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro” closed out a Season 1 with the biggest audience since its premiere. After viewership rebounded for four consecutive weeks, the Season 1 finale scored 4.7 million viewers within a week of viewing across ABC, Disney+, Hulu and digital platforms.
Two weeks later, the tentpole show picked up the baton with a history-making premiere.
“Adults” beats the sophomore slump
FX’s “Adults” has joined the small number of TV shows that has beat the sophomore slump, with viewership for Season 2 growing over 40% from Season 1, according to viewing figures for Hulu in the U.S. and Disney+ internationally. In fact, international viewing was up 100% for Season 2, doubling the reach of Season 1.
The prequel episode, which launched ahead of Season 2, also did numbers for the show, with viewership for Season 1 growing 50% globally since its debut.
“Jersey Shore Family Vacation” goes out with a ratings bang
MTV’s “Jersey Shore Family Vacation” closed out strong, with the final 18 episodes scoring the show’s highest-rating season average in the 18-49 demo in over two years. The final episodes averaged a 0.56 rating in the demo, rising 14% over the first half of the last season.
“Jersey Shore Family Vacation” wrapped up within the top 10 cable entertainment series in the third quarter in the demo and scored the most social views of any other cable reality program during the season’s airing.
ICYMI:
- The revamped “60 Minutes” suffered double-digit ratings declines with its Season 59 premiere
- Tyler Perry’s “Why Did I Get Married Again?” scored a strong debut on Netflix, landing as the top movie of the week.
- Also on Netflix, Harlan Coben’s “I Will Find You” moved up to No. 5 on the streamer’s most popular shows of all time
- The NFL’s expansion to Australia paid off handsomely for Netflix, with the Rams-49ers matchup bringing in an average of 18.5 million viewers in the U.S. and 21.7 million globally
