Wait... Why Are the Emmys on a Monday?! Only ET Has the Answer!

By
ETONLINE

We have one very important question in need of an answer before tuning into the biggest night in television: Why are the Emmys on a Monday this year?! 

Well, we have the answer -- and it's not as simple as you might think...

This year's move to a seemingly random Monday night in August is largely due to the fact that NBC wanted to avoid a conflict with their coveted ratings tycoon Sunday Night Football which airs in September. But that's where the easy answers stop and things get complicated.


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Sources tell ET that Sunday was a possibility, but when the peacock network saw the date was already booked by MTV for the VMAs, they chose the nearest Monday. Now, the question remains, if NBC was going to move the telecast to a Monday, why not a Monday in September?

The network tells us it's because the venue was booked, but this doesn't hold up. After we did some digging, we learned that the Television Academy’s 10 year deal with the Nokia Theater gives the Emmys the first rights to the venue. But this does shed some light into why the MTV VMAs may have moved to the Forum this year, as opposed to being held at The Nokia as in years past.


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So why does this all matter? Well, many TV show productions have been impacted as they shoot around their stars. This leads to canceling production for the day, scheduling a week’s hiatus around the Monday Emmy date, or even some stars missing the big night in order to shoot.



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Ratings for the Emmys are also predicted to dip drastically from last year’s celebration, which snagged 17.5 million viewers—the highest-rated Emmys since 2005. In addition, Emmy goers are panicked over downtown traffic at rush hour in Los Angeles.

So, while NBC might win with their football schedule, including pre-season games, intact; it might be at the expense of ratings, TV fans, and those being honored by the TV Academy with all the juggling of schedules they need to do.


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And for all you history buffs out there: the Emmys were last held on a Monday in 1976. And the very first Emmys, held in January 1949 and broadcast only on the radio, were held on a Tuesday.

The 2014 Primetime Emmys air Monday at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on NBC.


What do you think of the Emmys being held on a Monday? Let us know on Twitter using #ETemmys or shout out your thoughts in the comments below!

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