This archive report was first published on 24 September 2019.
Published on September 24, 2019, the Emmy Awards have plummeted to a new all-time ratings low, with grand farewells for "Game of Thrones" and "Veep" failing to entice viewers.
The show, which rotates between the four major US networks, was watched by just 6.9 million US viewers on Sunday, down from the already record-low 10.2 million who tuned in last year, according to broadcaster Fox.
Viewers watching the Emmys have halved since 2014, a trend of successive years of new lows that suggests fragmented audiences are increasingly shunning awards shows.
Despite the low ratings, the show received widespread praise for its chosen winners, with "Fleabag" and its creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge springing the biggest of several warmly-received surprises.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge's "Fleabag" won several awards, including best comedy series, and its creator was praised for making "interesting, deserving choices".
"This year, Emmy voters went off script, often in shocking ways... Voters went with the best," said the LA Times in a review that declared: "The Emmys have never been so damn good."
