Emmys 2015: The Least Watched In History

The Emmy Awards hit a new low Sunday night, when just 11.9 million people tuned into the Fox broadcast. Last year, when it aired on a Monday in late August on NBC, it logged 15.6 million viewers.

By The Associated Press | September 21, 2015 | 3:45 p.m. ET.

And the winner wasn’t the Emmys – at least, when it came to the viewership.

Nielsen says Sunday’s three-hour special on Fox averaged just 11.9 million viewers, making it the least-watched Emmycast in history.

Last year, when it aired on a Monday in late August on NBC, it logged 15.6 million viewers. In 2013, 17.8 million viewers tuned in for CBS’ broadcast, teamed with an NFL game as a powerful lead-in.

This year’s Emmy show likewise had football as a lead-in. But the Emmys faced football as direct competition, too, thanks to NBC’s Sunday Night Football, which doubtless dragged down the Emmy audience.

The program, airing from Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theater, was hosted by Andy Samberg.

Sean Smith says:

September 21, 2015 at 6:54 pm

The fact is, television has boring shows. They’re not fun anymore. It’s all references to sex, violence, or humor that is way over the heads of most people watching. AND THE HOST? Who is that dude? Way past boring. But then…. that was the show itself.

Ellen Samrock says:

September 21, 2015 at 11:53 pm

No. How old are you? Ten? What has age got to do with it? If you accept the idea that the Emmys is nothing more than a promotional tool for the TV industry to tout its shows then the broadcast networks got the very short end of the stick. Instead, they get to air an awards show in which the awards are going to TV programming that has little to do with them. All the so-called cutting edge shows have gone over to the cable nets. The broadcasting networks would love to buy the cutting edge shows except they’re dealing with an FCC that regards the average age of the American viewer as ten and, therefore, must be protected. So, why not just put the Emmys on a cable net and they can have it all? The Emmys have very little to do with broadcast television anymore.

Teri Keene says:

September 22, 2015 at 10:15 am

Oh, boo freaking hoo….broadcasters created this problem by creating and airing shitty programs no one wants to see because they keep hiring the same idiots over and over again. It’s just like radio in my town – idiot execs who still think a has-been DJ blowing up disco records in a baseball stadium in 1979 is still relevant in 2015. And who gives a damn about the Emmys anyway? If there were awards for the most brain-dead pathetic executives in television or radio, these people would clean up. And cable? Keep in mind its also home to the Kardashians and the hoes on The Real Housewives Of Atlanta. Enough said.