Emmy Telecast Earns Nielson Honors

NBC's telecast of "The 62nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards" has scored the highest adult 18-49 rating, excluding sports, for any telecast on any network since the "Glee" season finale June 8, and the biggest overall viewer total for any non-sports telecast since the "American Idol" season finale May 26, according to preliminary time zone-adjusted "fast national" "live plus same day" viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research.

Last night's telecast is currently running within 2 percent of last year's coverage in adult 18-49 rating and is up 0.2 percent in total viewers, pending updates. These are currently the top-scoring Emmy Awards in total viewers in four years (since 2006).

Running from 8-11:01 p.m. ET and airing live in all time zones, last night's Emmy telecast, hosted by Jimmy Fallon, averaged a 4.1 rating in adults 18-49 and 13.5 million viewers overall.

Versus last year's Emmy telecast, which was broadcast on September 20, 2009 on CBS, last night's event finished within 2 percent in adult 18-49 rating (a 4.1 rating vs. a 4.2) and was up 0.2 percent in total viewers (13.503 million vs. 13.471 million). Versus the 2008 Emmy Awards, which were broadcast on ABC September 21, 2008, last night's telecast was up 8 percent in 18-49 (4.1 vs. 3.8) and up 9 percent in total viewers (13.503 million vs. 12.341 million).

The last non-sports telecast on any network to rate higher in adults 18-49 was the June 8 season finale of Fox's "Glee," which earned a 4.7 rating in adults 18-49. The last non-sports telecast on any network to deliver a larger overall audience was the season finale of Fox's "American Idol," which delivered 24.2 million viewers on May 26.

The Emmys currently rank #1 for the time period in adults 18-49, total viewers and other key ratings measures. The telecast was up 273 percent in 18-49 rating versus NBC's summer-to-date non-sports average for the time period (4.1 vs. 1.1). In total viewers, the Emmys were up 208 percent versus NBC's non-sports average in the slot this summer (13.5 million vs. 4.4 million).

The 2010 event was televised live to all time zones, the first time the Emmys have been carried live coast to coast since the late 1970s. Some western markets also carried an encore telecast immediately following the live coverage.

From 7-8 p.m. ET last night, NBC aired "The 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards Red Carpet Special," hosted by Billy Bush and Maria Menounos of "Access Hollywood" and Nate Berkus of "The Nate Berkus Show." Reliable national ratings for the "Red Carpet" special are expected from Nielsen Tuesday morning, when official-national results for all of Sunday's primetime broadcast programs are due.