Emmy Awards 2024 Hit Record Low Ratings, Pulling in Just 4.3 Million Viewers

The Emmy Awards, aired on Fox, experienced a historic low in viewership with only 4.3 million tuning in, marking a continued decline in ratings for the prestigious event. The Nielsen company reported on Tuesday that the telecast, hosted by Anthony Anderson, saw a significant drop from the previous record low of 5.9 million viewers during NBC’s 2022 telecast, the last time the awards ceremony was held.

Several factors contributed to this year’s Emmys facing an uphill battle. The event was delayed by four months from its traditional September schedule due to strikes by Hollywood’s writers and actors. Additionally, it had to contend with tough competition from an NFL playoff game and extensive coverage of the Iowa caucuses in the presidential campaign.

Comparatively, this year’s Emmy Awards fell short, with its audience less than half of the 9.4 million viewers that tuned in to the CBS telecast of the Golden Globes just eight days earlier. The Golden Globes, which honored both television and movies and featured prominent stars like Taylor Swift, outshone the Emmys in terms of viewership.

Despite generally positive reviews for the show hosted by Anthony Anderson, which celebrated television’s past with reunions and set recreations from iconic shows like “Cheers,” “Martin,” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” the declining trend in viewership persisted. Variety described it as “delightful,” and The Hollywood Reporter praised its “polish, proficiency, and emotion.”

The Emmys had experienced a low point in 2020 during the height of the pandemic, where the show, with no in-person audience and remote nominees, garnered 6.1 million viewers. However, it rebounded in 2021 with 7.4 million viewers. Unfortunately, the decline resumed in 2022.

The rotation of airings among the four broadcast networks does little to halt this downward trajectory. The last time the Emmys reached over 10 million viewers was in 2018, drawing 10.2 million. The peak viewership for the awards show was in 2000 with 21.8 million viewers, a milestone that seems increasingly distant.

In the face of these challenges, the Emmy Awards, though receiving positive acclaim, struggled to captivate a broad audience, showcasing an evident shift in viewing patterns and preferences among audiences.