Emmys register All-Time low ratings. Suprised? Not me.

The entertainment news websites today were teeming with news about this past Monday’s Prime-Time Emmy Awards telecast having the all-time lowest Emmy ratings ever.  I bet I’m not the only one that isn’t surprised to hear this.

The Emmys used to be (sort of, at least) an “event” that you’d want to watch to see the big Hollywood stars coming down the Red Carpet, and then you’d want to know which big shows would win.  But nowadays it’s totally different.

  1.  The awards are on a Monday Night.  Seriously?  I’m much more interested in seeing whether or not my Fantasy Football team can rally.  I didn’t even realize the Emmys were on until after 9:00PM.  But even then I’d much rather watch the game to see if the Bears Tight-End can grab a few yards, then watch the Emmys.  Admittedly, the NFL has lost lots of viewers itself…well one thing is apparent:  they didn’t jump over and watch the Emmys.
  2. Too much politics!  One of the reasons nobody (well, not quite ‘nobody’ but it’s nearing that point) watches is that you can’t go 30 seconds with some sort of political statement or social lecture by the hosts and winners.  Tuesday Night I watched the opening monologue online, and it was rife with political/social hot-button commentary and jabs.  In recent years there has been a lot of attention paid to the lack of diversity of the nominees/winners of these type award shows.  Good news: This year there was the first-ever Asian nominated in the Best Actress in a Drama Series category (Sandra Oh – who oh by the way has been a great grump in Grey’s Anatomy for years-but that is a large ensemble cast).  Anyhow, instead of celebrating this progress, the opening monologue/song and dance was all about the fact that there’s been now “Only One” nominated.  The joke went that Hollywood probably figures the work is done (when obviously these changes are work in progress).  True change in culture and thinking and then seeing results like that don’t happen overnight.  In fact it’s hurtful to then insult the very audience and institutions you’re trying to influence.  Hollywood crybabies can’t seem to understand that.  Personally, I only like to be preached to on Sundays.
  3. What was It I said about seeing stars from the “big” shows on the Red Carpet?  Forget that.  In addition to ABC, CBS, NBC (which was ALL there was when I was a kid-that’s right, 3 channels AND we had to stand up to change them!), we have of course FOX, CW, HBO, Starz, Showtime, Hulu, Amazon, and Netflix (which, did I hear right–has SEVEN HUNDRED original series now??).  Really, who’s supposed to keep tabs on this and know “all” of the stars of the big shows?  It’s impossible.  I reckon the Emmys have interns watching every show out there, attempting to scan each offering.  I mean if we throw 700 shows out there, we might score a few nominations, right?  The “Battle of the Nework Stars” is no longer a 2 hour special, it could be a season-long reality competition show!

I’m sure I could think of even more reasons people didn’t watch the Emmys…like maybe they had to work another job to pay the bills that are almost strangling their family, or maybe the 4 year old wants to watch “Peppa Pig,” (maybe that was just me), or maybe they were catching up on one of those 700 shows on Netflix.  I don’t think the Academy should be too surprised.  But really, congrats to all of the winners.  I’m sure they don’t need me giving themselves a pat on the back and congratulating them.  They took care of that themselves on Monday.

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