Emmys 2015: Ratings sink to record low against NFL football
Jeffrey Tambor accepts the Emmy for lead actor in a comedy series award for “Transparent.”
Looks like the Emmy ratings were nothing to celebrate.
According to Nielsen, Sunday’s telecast on Fox of the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards sank to just 11.9 million total viewers, a plunge of 24% compared with last year and a record low opposite high-rated football on NBC.
Among adults 18 to 49, the key network TV demographic, the Emmys sank 16% to a 3.2 rating/9 share. Thus the live ceremony hosted by Andy Samberg has gone down as the least-watched Emmys since at least 1990.
The ceremony saw many historic wins, including major prizes for Amazon’s “Transparent,” a comedy about a middle-aged man (Jeffrey Tambor) who comes out as transgender to his adult kids.
The 2014 telecast on NBC, hosted by Seth Meyers, delivered 15.6 million. The previous low record in recent years was the much-maligned 2008 Emmys on ABC, which were hosted by a panel of reality stars and scored 12.2 million viewers.
The chief culprit on Sunday seems to have been football. NBC aired a much-anticipated NFL game that saw the Green Bay Packers beat the Seattle Seahawks.
Last year, NBC aired the Emmys in August to avoid a conflict with its lucrative and high-rated football schedule.
In addition, Emmy ratings are often tied to which network is broadcasting the show.
The 2013 telecast on CBS drew 17.6 million total viewers, the most in a decade. That may have had something to do with the fact that CBS is the most-watched network. Viewers of “NCIS” and other hit shows see promos for the Emmys and then make plans to watch.
PHOTOS: Emmys 2015 Top nominees and winners | Red carpet | Show highlights
But the Emmys usually deliver much softer numbers on Fox, which skews younger than CBS but does not equal its reach among all adults. The 12.4 million Fox drew for the 2011 Emmys were among the lowest of recent years.
Did you catch Sunday night’s show? What did you think?
Twitter: @scottcollinsLAT
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