Primetime Ratings: Emmy Ratings Plunge 16% From 2014

Up against the Emmys on Fox, NBC’s Sunday Night Football easily won the ratings contest Sunday night, with NBC putting up a 7.1 rating/22 share in adults 18-49, according to Nielsen’s overnights, including the pre-game program. The 67th Primetime Emmys rated a 3.2 with a 9 share, down 16% in fast nationals from the 2014 telecast. CBS came in third with a 1.1/3, ahead of ABC (0.5/1). ABC was in repeats, while CBS had a fresh Big Brother with a 1.8 rating—down 22% from the previous week.

Last year’s Emmys telecast was hosted by Seth Meyers on NBC and was not up against football. HBO dominated the Emmys, with wins for best comedy (Veep) and best drama (Game of Thrones), among many others. Jon Hamm’s long awaited best actor win for Mad Men helped drive tune-in as did an NFL lead-in, though the lack of broadcast network shows in the running for trophies put a damper on viewership.

The Emmys did seem to grab some viewers from football, which featured the Seahawks versus the Packers. NBC’s 7.1 rating was down 7% from the previous Sunday’s ratings.

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.