Emmys 2023 Attract All-Time Low Viewership Ratings
The numbers for the highly acclaimed 75th Emmy Awards have come in, and although it signifies greatly for the FOX network, it is one of the lowest draws for the actual award show in quite some time.
The Emmys, which cycles through several networks each year to premiere, achieved an average rating of 0.85 among Adults 18-49 and garnered 4.3 million Total Viewers.
This signifies FOX’s highest-rated Monday unscripted telecast in over eight-and-a-half years (excluding sports, since 6/15/15) and the most-watched Monday featuring entertainment programming in over a year and a half (since 5/16/22).
According to THR, however, that’s down 27 percent from the previous low of 5.92 million for the 2022 Emmys, which aired on NBC.
The lower viewership for Monday’s Emmys has been attributed to several circumstances, including the fact that the awards were rescheduled from their usual September slot due to ongoing strikes by writers and actors advocating for improved contracts and working conditions.
The decision to air the Emmys on Monday night placed them in direct competition with the final game of the NFL’s wild-card playoff round on ABC and ESPN, as well as coverage of the Iowa caucuses on cable news channels.
Airing during Hollywood’s first-quarter awards season, the Emmys presented trophies to winners who had already been recognized at other recent events. The three dominant shows of Monday’s awards—The Bear, Beef, and Succession—had previously secured honors at both the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards in the previous week.
As such, after airing four months later than usual and on an especially crowded night of TV, the Emmy Awards drew their smallest audience ever.
According to Fox, final ratings are expected to show an increase when all data are considered, which will be available tomorrow, given that January 15 was a national holiday.
