NBC’s Emmys drop from last year but dominate on new night

8/26/2014

Held on a Monday for the first time since 1976, the annual Primetime Emmy Awards won the night in viewers, according to early Nielsen ratings.

Down in total viewership from last year, the three-hour ceremony, which earned a rating of 3.8 in the key 18-to-49-year-old demographic, drew in 13.8 million viewers.

Because these early numbers are not time-zone adjusted, they are subject to change. However, as of 8 a.m. Tuesday, NBC was reporting its highest-rated Monday, excluding the Olympics, in seven years.

The 66th annual awards show, hosted by Seth Meyers, had its second-highest rating in eight years but fell 12 percent from the 2013 show, which earned a rating of 4.3 in the key demo.

Last year’s ceremony, held on CBS and hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, drew about 17.8 million total viewers despite having to compete with finales of “Breaking Bad” and “Dexter.” With help from a Sunday-night-football lead-in, the show was the most-watched Emmys since 2005.

Elsewhere on network television, Fox boasted solid Monday night ratings with Gordon Ramsay shows “Masterchef” and “Hotel Hell.”

The culinary competition show took second most watched in the key demo, with a rating of 2.0, even with last week. A total of 5.3 million people tuned in, making it the third-most-watched program of the night. Meanwhile, “Hotel Hell” was third in the key demo with a rating of 1.6.

CBS’ “Under the Dome” was second in viewers overall, with 6.5 million people tuning in at 10 p.m. It was down 7 percent from last week, earning a rating of 1.4 in the key demo.

On ABC, “Bachelor in Paradise” held even with last week with a rating of 1.3. “Mistresses” was up 13 percent with a rating of 0.9.