Julia Stoll
Research expert covering TV and video media
The Emmy Awards - statistics & facts
The Emmy Awards honor outstanding achievements in U.S. television programming. Unlike most other award show formats, the Emmys encompass multiple separate ceremonies that are spread throughout the year and recognize excellence across a wide range of categories. The highlight of the television awards calendar is arguably the Primetime Emmy Awards show, which was last held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on September 12, 2022. The ceremony was broadcast live on NBC, but even though the star-studded event is considered television’s biggest night, the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards drew the smallest TV audience to date. Based on the latest reports, the number of Emmy Awards viewers plummeted to an estimated 5.92 million in 2022, down from 7.4 million in 2021. This downward trend in viewership has also been affecting other prestigious award shows, and even the Golden Globes and Academy Awards saw all-time lows in viewership in recent years.
Winners and nominees at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards
The most recent edition of the Primetime Emmy Awards encompassed 25 categories, all of which were voted on by members of the Television Academy. On top of that, the Creative Arts Emmys, which were broadcast a few days before the main event, presented an additional 93 trophies for artistic and technical achievements in behind-the-scenes roles. With multiple wins for limited series, “The White Lotus” was the program with the most Emmy Award wins in 2022. HBO’s drama series scored 10 wins out of 20 nominations, whereas “Succession” picked up four Emmy wins out of 25 nominations – including the coveted prize for Outstanding Drama Series. Overall, sketch comedy “Saturday Night Live” remains the program with the most Emmy Award wins of all time, and its creator Lorne Michaels also tops the list of individuals with the most nominations ever.How did streaming services perform?
The 74th Primetime Emmy Awards were once again dominated by major video streaming services – with one notable exception. Premium cable service HBO and its streaming counterpart HBO Max collectively reclaimed their spot as the network with the most Emmy wins in 2022, with a total of 38 awards across the main telecast and the Creative Arts categories. Netflix, on the other hand, only took home 26 awards that year, which marked a significant drop from the 44 awards received in 2021. But even though the streaming giant underperformed in terms of trophy count, its content still resonated with audiences. In July of 2022, for example, Netflix’s hit series “Stranger Things” was the most popular digital original show in the United States. Meanwhile, other streaming networks such as Hulu, Disney+, and Apple rounded out the top five ranking in terms of wins.
