# Emmys Slip to 6.7 Million Viewers

> The 78th Emmy Awards fell from last year, even as NBC beat its last turn hosting and Apple TV had a huge night.
- Title: Emmys Slip to 6.7 Million Viewers · The Hollywood Reporter
- Summary: The 78th Emmy Awards fell from last year, even as NBC beat its last turn hosting and Apple TV had a huge night. The Emmys are still below last year, but NBC…
- Keywords: emmy awards, 78th emmy awards, nielsen ratings, nbc, peacock, mariska hargitay, apple tv, widow's bay, prime video, television academy, amazon, tv ratings
- Source: The Hollywood Reporter — https://hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/2026-emmy-awards-tv-ratings-1236702880
- Author: Rick Porter
- Published: 2026-09-15T23:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: emmy awards, 78th emmy awards, nielsen ratings, nbc, peacock, mariska hargitay, apple tv, widow's bay, prime video, television academy, amazon, tv ratings
## Ratings slipped again
Early Nielsen numbers put the 78th Emmy Awards at 6.7 million viewers across NBC, Peacock and other platforms, down about 10 percent from last year’s early count.

> Early numbers for Monday’s telecast put the Emmys at 6.7 million viewers
## Finals may lift it
Last year’s show rose from 7.42 million in early ratings to 7.59 million in final same-day totals. A similar bump would put this year near the 2024 ABC telecast.
## NBC improved on 2022
The show still beat the last NBC Emmys, which averaged 5.92 million viewers in 2022. About 6.2 million watched on NBC alone this time.

> The NBC-only audience for Monday’s show is about 6.2 million
## Hargitay hosted the night
Mariska Hargitay led the ceremony, which mixed highs and lows while the ratings story took shape around broadcast and streaming totals.
## Apple TV dominated
Widow’s Bay won six awards during the telecast and 14 overall, a comedy-series record. Apple TV finished first among outlets with 28 Emmy wins.

> Widow’s Bay set a record for most Emmy wins by a comedy series in a single year
## A streamer may take over
This was the last Emmys under the current broadcast-network deal. The Television Academy is talking with Prime Video about moving the ceremony to Amazon’s streamer.

> every previous ceremony has aired on a broadcast outlet
## Key takeaway

The Emmys are still below last year, but NBC improved on 2022 and the next big shift may be a move to Prime Video.