Neil Patrick Harris did more than simply garner strong reviews for his Emmy hosting gig–he also helped the Awards telecast end its period of ratings decline.
Though the preliminary numbers for the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards are not staggering, they mark an 11% ratings uptick from last year’s poorly-rated and reviewed ceremony.
The first ratings data release, according to THR Feed, has the show pulling 13.3 million viewers with a 4.2 in adults 18-49. The household rating roughly averaged out to an 8.6.
The fact that this year’s broadcast was the most-watched Emmy ceremony since 2006 is especially noteworthy given the massive on-air competition Sunday night. The NFC East rivalry game between the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys, two of the NFL’s top-drawing teams, predictably posted an enormous rating on NBC (it averaged well over 20 million viewers from 8-11PM); AMC, meanwhile, aired a fresh episode of Emmy favorite “Mad Men.”
I think Neil Patrick Harris did a great job. I hope they choose him to host the Emmys again.