72nd Emmy Awards: Quick Viewership and Ad Insights
TV's biggest night looked more than a little different this year — instead of a packed red carpet and a theater filled with celebrities, the event was almost entirely virtual, with Jimmy Kimmel hosting from an empty Staples Center (well, not empty if you count the cardboard cut outs and Jason Bateman), and winners giving their speeches virtually.
Below, viewership and advertising insights for the evening, including a look at what shows fans of series such as Schitt's Creek are also watching and what percent of NFL viewers on Sunday also switched over to watch some of the Emmys.
According to Inscape, the TV data company with insights from a panel of more than 16 million active and opted-in smart TVs, of all the live, linear minutes watched on Sept. 20, 2.48% of the time was spent on the 72nd Emmy Awards, putting it in second place for percent share duration. (NFL football was No. 1 that day, with 22.66% share duration.)
Minute-by-minute viewership for the Emmys was fairly stable throughout the broadcast, although it started to decline slightly after the mid-point, but spiked again at the very end.
Generally the West Coast had more tune-in but there were notable hotspots in the Northeast and Midwest as well. The top 10 local area markets: Palm Springs; San Francisco-Oak-San Jose; Los Angeles; San Diego; Omaha; Chicago; Philadelphia; Eugene; Monterey-Salinas; Boston (Manchester).
Inscape looked at some of the notable shows that won or were nominated to see what else those fans are watching. Schitt’s Creek and The Good Place fans are all about the comedy, while Succession and Watchmen viewers lean towards drama, news and sports, with a sprinkle of comedy. (Note: this data only covers linear viewership of these series, not streaming audiences.)
Did NFL Fans Watch Any of the Emmys?
Looking at viewership crossover between the Emmys and NFL football games on Sept. 20, 44% of the Emmys viewers tuned into at least two minutes of NFL football, but only 8.8% of NFL football viewers watched at least two minutes of the Emmys.
Advertising Highlights
According to iSpot, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company, there were 225.9 million TV ad impressions during the 72nd Emmy Awards — a 42.8% decrease from the 71st Emmy Awards in 2019 — with 42 brands airing 70 spots 79 times.
The top five most-seen brands were:
- Kia (16 million TV ad impressions)
- Disney+ (11.1 million TV ad impressions)
- LG Appliances (9.5 million TV ad impressions)
- Capital One Credit Card (8.5 million TV ad impressions
- Allstate (6.9 million TV ad impressions)
Discounting network promos, the most-seen spots of the evening were:
- Peacock TV TV Spot, 'Who's Streaming' (6.2 million TV ad impressions)
- Subway TV Spot, 'The Watt Family Shed' Featuring Derek Watt, J.J. Watt, T.J. Watt (6.1 million TV ad impressions)
- LG CordZero TV Spot, 'Bless This Mess' Song by Icona Pop (6.1 million TV ad impressions)
- 2021 Kia K5 TV Spot, 'Turning the Lights On' (5.8 million TV ad impressions)
- Capital One Walmart Rewards Card TV Spot, 'Science Fair' (5.6 million TV ad impressions)