The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards drew 6.7 million viewers across NBC and Peacock. This is according to preliminary Nielsen figures. The number marks a decline from last year’s ceremony. Final ratings numbers are expected to be released later.
The show aired live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. Mariska Hargitay hosted the event. It took place on Monday, September 14, 2026.
The numbers
Last year’s Emmys brought in 7.59 million viewers. That ceremony aired across CBS and Paramount+. It was the most watched Emmys since 2021. Compared to that final number, this year’s audience fell by close to 12 percent.
Last year’s initial rating, before later adjustment, stood at 7.42 million viewers. Measured against that starting figure, the decline this year comes closer to 9 percent. This is the figure cited in Variety’s headline.
Compared with NBC’s last Emmys broadcast in 2022, this year’s audience grew by 10 percent.
Why the numbers vary
News outlets have reported different percentage drops for the same event. The gap comes down to which prior year figure is used as the baseline. Variety used the network’s early comparison point, giving a 9 percent decline. TheWrap used the final adjusted number from last year, giving a decline closer to 12 percent.
Both figures describe the same underlying data. The final, adjusted 2026 number could shift these comparisons again once Nielsen releases confirmed totals.
A changed broadcast night
This year’s Emmys moved from its traditional Sunday slot to a Monday broadcast. NBC needed the Sunday slot for Sunday Night Football. Even with the switch, the ceremony still faced competition from NFL programming, including a Monday night game between the Chiefs and Broncos.
That game reportedly kept pop star Taylor Swift from attending the ceremony.
Despite the new schedule, NBC’s linear broadcast performance rose 41 percent compared with the last time the Emmys aired on a Monday. That earlier broadcast was on Fox in January 2024. That ceremony was delayed by the Hollywood labor strikes and brought in a record low of 4.4 million viewers at the time.
Where the show ranked
The 2026 Emmys were the top entertainment show on television Monday night. It was also the most watched Monday entertainment telecast of the year so far. This holds true both for total viewers and for the 18 to 49 age demographic that networks use to set advertising rates.
On Peacock, the ceremony’s simulstream reach was the highest ever recorded for a non-holiday NBC entertainment special. Only past broadcasts of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade have scored higher on the platform.
Social media performance
The ceremony performed strongly online even as linear viewership fell. It generated 133 million video views across Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube. That is a 90 percent increase from last year’s ceremony.
The broadcast also produced 17 million total interactions across those same platforms. Both totals made the Emmys the most talked about program of the night on social media.
Recent ratings history
Emmys viewership has followed an uneven pattern over the past several years. The 2025 ceremony rose 8 percent from the 76th Emmys, which aired on ABC and drew 6.87 million viewers. That 2024 ceremony had itself jumped 54 percent from the show held earlier that same year, the delayed 75th Emmys on Fox.
This pattern shows a broadcast that had been climbing back from a low point reached during the pandemic and strike years. The 2026 dip breaks that recent upward run.
- Emmy Awards
