Competing against football and politics, the Emmys somehow got terrible ratings

Did you watch the Emmy Awards this year? If so, congratulations on being one of only 4.3 million people who made that same choice, . And while that may seem like a lot of people in some other contexts (imagine 4.3 million people sitting on your couch!), it’s definitely a lot in terms of Emmy broadcasts.

In fact, it’s a new record low for the ceremony, making this the fifth time in six years that the Emmy awards have set a new —the one outlier being , which was sort of held outside as a COVID precaution, so maybe viewers were curious about that. But this year’s Emmy Awards basically shot itself in the foot in terms of attracting viewers, airing on a Monday months after the usual September window (with the Hollywood strikes forcing producers to delay the show) opposite both NFL wild card playoffs news coverage of the questionably relevant/necessary caucuses in the questionably relevant/necessary state of Iowa.

Basically, if you wanted to watch something other than the Emmy Awards, you had multiple options. And if you want to watch the Emmy Awards, that option has been getting more enticing every year. Hell, ’s Rob McElhenney was the Emmy Awards and he didn’t want to watch the Emmy Awards, with Kaitlin Olson with a serious look on his face.

(The Eagles lost, so maybe it’s okay that he could distract himself with the Emmys.) There’s also the fact that the Emmy aired after the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Awards, and while those aren’t as prestigious as the famous golden winged lady holding an atom for some reason, they could’ve contributed to some kind of awards fatigue that the Emmys don’t usually have to deal with over in September.

Unfortunately for anyone suffering from awards fatigue, there are still to go in this season. How are you going to make it to the Oscars if you’re over it already? Then there’s the fact that the next Emmys is scheduled for September again, which is practically just a few months away and will almost certainly get even worse ratings than this one..