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UPDATES 2009 Emmy Winners (With Cynical Commentary)
Overnights are in. And all I can say is that we are indeed a nation hopelessly divided. Some of us like football. And some of us like interminable awards shows. What a shocker that last night’s 3-hour 61st Annual Primetime Emmy telecast on CBS drew a 4.2 preliminary rating among adults 18-49, which was 11% higher than last year’s worst ever. Or that the show was seen by 13.3 million viewers, 8% more than 2008. This, despite the fact that NBC’s Cowboys/Giants game scored the the largest overnight household rating for a primetime NFL game in 11 years. That was a 65% bigger audience than the Emmys. More Americans like football on television than TV patting itself on the back. Can you really blame us, er, them?
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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We were watching the last episode of Mad Men’s Season Two – ‘Meditations in an Emergency’. Excellent viewing. And something of a coincidence.
Was there an awards show? Count me in as one watching the football game.
BTW, can an awards show that has a catagory of “Reality show host” be considered legit? C’mon, really?
If you wasted your time on that crapfest, you missed a good game.
Nikki,
If you truly hate the entertainment industry so much, why exactly are you doing this as a career?
Or, if your on the West Coast you can watch both!
And some of us tivo’d and watched both of them.
Game first of course.
I’m still trying to figure out why the NFL made it impossible for ABC to continue “Monday Night Football,” which was the last broadcast network prime time show I ever watched. Well, ABC blamed the NFL for the move as far as I remember. You’d think after 36 successful years, they should have left “MNF” alone, but I guess today’s media and sports executives are smarter than their predecessors. (And yes, I know “MNF” on ESPN is a ratings bonanza for the cable world, but the match-ups are no better than regular NFL scheduling, and the commentary-color team STINKS.) Oh, and in this world where networks measure success by “margins,” I suppose “Dancing with the Stars” is cheap enough to wring out a profit, but for sports fans, it sure doesn’t help make it easier to get through a Monday.
Oh I saw the Emmys. After I saw the game!!!!
Great weekend of football.
UT – Win
Texans- Win
Dallas- Lose
USC- Lose
Manchester United – Win
Emmys… suck. Who really cares?
The increase comes solely from being on the strongest network of the bunch (CBS). It has a much deeper, and wider reach — and a viewership more geared towards “traditional” television — than last year’s outlet (FOX).
It was a flat year, then, but credit must be given for it not being the worst ever. Up against THAT football game, it easily could have been.
Except last year’s outlet was ABC, not Fox.
I did what all smart people did – read Nikki’s comments while watching football. Truly the best of both worlds.
it’s highly possible that after the great job Neil Patrick Harris did for the Tonys that a lot of viewers were attracted to the Emmys for the same reason. i didn’t really care about the awards themselves but enjoyed the host.
I suppose that most people don’t care about The Emmys – although, what are we supposed to do? Not have a televised awards show? One off award shows have been decreasing their budgets year after year – but they still try to keep them alive for the sake of the industry.
I think jumping up and down and saying “see, football is more popular than awards shows!!!” is moot. We all know that to be the case. That doesn’t mean that The Emmys should stop making a TV show to present awards. And honestly, what does it matter to the people who DON’T watch it?
It’s a choice audiences make and it’s not really that big of a deal.
Give credit where credit is due.Me and my friends only tuned into the Emmy’s to watch NPH. He was the only reason to watch. The Oscars would be very dumb not to offer him a very good deal to host their crap fest.
Don’t ever discount the power of the gay community. I bet a lot of those young viewers simply turned in to see Neil Patrick Harris.
Hey Nikki,
Love your site, but how about crowing about the good news in your post. These numbers prove that broadcast networks can still draw an audience…they just need to put on shows that the “hopelessly divided nation” wants to see.