The 69th Primetime Emmys spent three hours Sunday night attacking President Donald Trump and the show matched the historic low of the 2016 broadcast.
After, last year’s award show hosted by Jimmy Kimmel came in with the lowest numbers in the show’s history, early numbers from Nielsen data show that this year’s star-studded event hosted by Stephen Colbert did just as bad, according to a report Monday by Variety. (RELATED: Stephen Colbert Attacks Trump, Sean Spicer Mocks Himself During Emmys)
Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer speaks onstage during the 69th Emmy Awards / AFP PHOTO / Frederic J. Brown (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)
In the coveted adult demographic for ages 18-49, the award show in early numbers received only 2.2 million viewers, with 9.6 million total viewers Sunday night. In comparison, last year’s early numbers in the same demographic received 2.5 million viewers, and 9.7 million viewers overall. Those numbers were later adjusted to 2.8 million within the demographic, and 11.3 million for the entire audience. Final numbers for Sunday night were later adjusted showing a 2.5 rating for the demographic and 11.4 million viewers.
In 2015, the Emmys netted a 3.6 million viewers in the same demographic and 11.9 million viewers total for the star-studded show.
Because the broadcast aired live in both the East coast and West Coast time zones, the numbers were adjusted later in the day.
The program also earned 8.2 million viewers in metered market households, down two percent over the previous year.
Sunday night, the Emmys turned highly political from the opening musical number as the host and presenters took shots at the president mentioning the Russia investigation, treason, and global warming, to name a few. Even the former White House press secretary Sean Spicer made an appearance to mock himself from one of his press conferences about the size of Trump’s inauguration crowd.
Updated: This story has been updated to reflect the latest ratings numbers.