Emmys hit a high note with 6.87M viewers, scoring their biggest audience in three years

Returning to its traditional September slot gave a significant boost to the Emmy Awards' TV ratings.

Sunday's show, hosted by Eugene and Dan Levy on ABC, drew an average of 6.87 million viewers in early Nielsen ratings, including out-of-home viewing. This represents a 54% increase from the January 2023 ceremony, which hit a record low with just 4.46 million viewers due to delays from last year's writers' and actors' strikes.

The broadcast also earned a 1.02 rating among adults 18-49, a 17% rise from last year's low.

The Emmys had been struggling with ratings declines even before the COVID-19 pandemic led to record lows across awards shows. While other major awards shows like the Oscars, Grammys, and Golden Globes have shown some recovery, the Emmys haven’t averaged more than 8 million viewers since 2018 and have exceeded 7 million only once since then, in 2021. The Emmys averaged 11.19 million viewers from 2015-2018.

Sunday's boost halted a two-year streak of record lows in both total viewers and the 18-49 demographic. Previous ceremonies on NBC and Fox faced stiff competition from NFL games, but this year’s show competed against a less impactful game between Houston and Chicago. Final ratings for Sunday Night Football will be available Tuesday.

The top winners of the night, FX’s Shogun and The Bear, were popular, with both spending significant time among Nielsen's most-watched streaming shows. The Bear’s second season and recent third season also had notable runs in the rankings.

Meanwhile, CBS’s 60 Minutes began its 57th season with 10.2 million viewers following an NFL doubleheader. This figure is expected to rise slightly in final ratings but falls short of last season’s 11.8 million viewers.

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