While the 2019 Emmys was a big night for Hollywood’s biggest TV stars, the ratings for the show have revealed that it completely bombed with viewers at home. According to TV Line, the Nielsen ratings for the Emmys indicate that the show only drew in about 6 million viewers — and a 1.5 demo rating — which is between a 34 and 39 percent drop from the 2018 ratings. The outlet goes on to note that based on the available data, NBC’s Sunday Night Football and CBS’ Big Brother both appear to have captured higher viewership numbers than the Emmys.
Interestingly, when it comes to the 132 series’ that were nominated for Emmys, 86 percent of them were exclusive to cable networks or streaming services.
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Broadcast TV shows only accounted for about 18 of the 132, or a total of 14 percent. That is also down from 2018, when the major broadcast networks garnered 18 percent of the total nominations.
TV Ratings: Emmy Awards Hit New Low https://t.co/pxyZm8nWv2
— Variety (@Variety) September 23, 2019
While the show does not seem to have been a big hit with TV audiences, there were still some great moments form the 2019 Emmys broadcast that are being talked about online.
One of those moments was when actress Michelle Williams used her acceptance speech for best Lead Actress in a Limited Series — for her role as Gwen Verdon in Fosse/Verdon — to speak about the importance of pay equality in Hollywood.
Actress Michelle Williams’ #Emmys speech:
“The next time a woman — and especially a woman of color, because she stands to make 52 cents on the dollar compared to her white male counterparts — tells you what she needs in order to do her job, listen to her, believe her” pic.twitter.com/Wzolkqc3lJ
— Bloomberg TicToc (@tictoc) September 23, 2019
Another big moment was when Pose actor Billy Porter became the first openly gay black man in Emmys history to take home the award for Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series.
“Billy Porter came out in the 80s, was abused by his stepfather, moved out at 15, lived through decades of homophobia, has faced casting discrimination, and now; just look at him, a true reflection of the ‘paris is burning’ tradition,” one fan said of Porter’s win. “This, my dear, is what you call A GAY ICON.”
Billy Porter has an emotional moment backstage after his #Emmys win, “I hope that young, queer people of all colors can look at me and know that they can.” https://t.co/G6ooSCPL2j pic.twitter.com/0u3HW65fd3
— Variety (@Variety) September 23, 2019
As far as total wins at this years Emmys, Game of Thrones was the top champ, after being awarded 12 total Emmy trophies.
Photo Credit: Fox