Viewership for the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards on Fox was at an all-time low.
According to Deadline, this year's Emmys Ceremony managed to accumulate only 6.9 million viewers from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. EST. This marks a 32 percent decrease in ratings since the awards show aired on NBC last year.
By contrast, the Oscars experienced a rise in ratings after doing without a host, possibly informing the Emmys' decision to go hostless this year. Not wanting to be too derivative, however, the committee took a different direction in some ways such as a purple carpet -- in place of the usual red -- and a lack of a traditional orchestra.
The winners for this years' Emmys may be a partial reason for the lack of attention on the awards. The positively meteoric, if controversial, final season of Game of Thrones won 'Best Drama' for a fourth consecutive time. Furthermore, other familiar names are present in the line-up as well, such as Saturday Night Live. That being said, other major winners may not be as familiar to a majority of viewers. Titles like Netflix's Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and HBO's Chernobyl may have dedicated fan bases, but how may not have the mainstream appeal to catch the attention of the average Emmys viewer.
The Emmys have, historically, served as the award that recognizes excellence in acting, writing, and other domains of television production. Different sections of the Emmy's exist for different parts of the industry, such as a Daytime Emmy for programs that air during the day, but Primetime is the customary hotspot for the awards season. The advent of on-demand streaming for traditional cable outlets as well as industry-shaking innovative services like Netflix and Hulu has raised questions about what function that not only the Emmys but other award ceremonies like the Oscars, serve in an exponentially diverse market.