‘The 50th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards’ Down from Last Year's Telecast in Total Viewers, On Par Among Adults-18-49

THE NUMBERS

Six months after it was originally scheduled to air, two Hollywood strikes and a last-minute scheduling switch, “The 50th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards” finally took place on Friday, December 15.

While viewership was down significantly from last year’s CBS telecast of “The 49th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards,” relatively speaking, there wasn’t much that could be asked for from an awards show that typically took place in the early parts of the summer compared to this year’s chilly December. Additionally, viewers could stream the awards show via their Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscription, numbers of which won’t be disclosed unless provided by CBS and/or Paramount.

In the key Adults 18-49 demographic, which is where CBS makes its money, the awards show kept itself mostly on par with previous performances, more specifically since the show began airing almost exclusively on the network in 2020.

According to the Programming Insider website, Friday’s broadcast averaged 2.03 million viewers and a 0.14 rating in Adults 18-49. Among Adults 25-54, the two-hour show averaged a 0.19 rating. Meanwhile, among Adults 18-34, the show averaged a 0.09 demo rating.

Viewership peaked in the 9:00 p.m. half-hour with 2.12 million viewers tuned in, followed by the 10:00 p.m. half-hour at 2.08 million viewers. The first hour rated the best among Adults 18-49 (0.16 rating) and Adults 25-54 (0.20 rating).

Compared to last year’s telecast, the awards show was down -770,000 viewers and slightly down among Adults 18-49 when it did a 0.2 rating in the demo.

CBS aired “The National Christmas Tree Lighting” as a lead-in this year, which averaged just 2.13 million viewers and a 0.16 rating among Adults 18-49, leaving the Daytime Emmys not much to work with. That said, as shown by a breakdown provided during the 2021 telecast of “The 48th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards,” viewers still managed to tune into the awards show even after seven days. That year’s broadcast saw an uptick of nearly +300,000 viewers within seven days of its original airing.

For the night, CBS averaged 2.07 million viewers and a 0.15 rating in Adults 18-49, placing the network fourth among the five broadcast networks. ABC topped the night with a 2.95 million viewer average, led by an original airing of “Shark Tank” (3.14 million), followed by NBC, which averaged 2.52 million viewers thanks to its rebroadcast of “Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors” (2.73 million). FOX ranked third with its airing of “WWE Friday Night Smackdown” (2.15 million viewers). The CW aired “The 91st Annual Hollywood Christmas Parade,” which averaged a mere 550,000 viewers and a 0.06 rating in Adults 18-49 to place the network in fifth place.

Since 2022, the Daytime Emmy Awards have taken place on Friday nights from 9:00-11:00 p.m. In 2020 and 2021, the awards show aired on Friday nights from 8:00-10:00 p.m., a significant difference in scheduling when considering lead-ins.

CBS has already committed to broadcasting “The 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards” next year through an exclusive two-year contract signed with The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) that was announced earlier this year.

What follows is a breakdown of how the Daytime Emmys has performed on CBS in recent years:

“The 50th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards” (CBS) – Friday, December 15, 2023

Total Viewers – 2.03 million
Adults 18-49 – 0.14 rating
Adults 25-54 – 0.19 rating
Adults 18-34 – 0.09 rating

“The 49th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards” (CBS) – Friday, June 24, 2022

Total Viewers – 2.80 million
Adults 18-49 – 0.2 rating

“The 48th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards” (CBS) – Friday, June 25, 2021

Total Viewers (Live+Same Day) – 2.528 million
Adults 18-49 (Live+Same Day) – 0.23 rating
Total Viewers (Live+7) – 2.813 million
Adults 18-49 (Live+7) – 0.25 rating

“The 47th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards” (CBS) – Friday, June 26, 2020

Total Viewers – 3.04 million
Adults 18-49 – 0.3 rating

The numbers above are calculated using Live+Same Day viewing and DVR playback, defined as 3:00 a.m.-3:00 a.m. and are courtesy of Nielsen. Household ratings are the percentage of TV homes in the U.S. tuned into television, each of which represents 1,250,000 homes as of the 2023-2024 television season.