Why Are The Emmy Awards Airing On A Monday?

It’s television’s biggest night, with the best stars gracing the small screen all converging on Hollywood and hoping to receive awards for their hard work. However, one question remains on the minds of fans who plan to view the Emmy Awards from home—why is the ceremony taking place on a Monday night?

The weeknight seems like a strange choice for one of the biggest awards shows of the year, as most other major awards shows, like the Golden Globes, Oscars and Grammys, all tend to take place on Sunday evenings. However, the Emmys airing on a Monday isn’t actually all that strange—and it’s the preferred night for the show.

In an article last December which revealed the show was moving to Monday night for 2018, the Hollywood Reporter revealed that when it comes to viewership numbers, the last Monday move for the Emmys proved to be a big success. That show, which aired in 2014, wound up being the second most-watched broadcast in a decade, averaging 15.6 million viewers. By comparison, the shows which aired in 2015, 2016 and 2017, all on Sunday nights, floundered in the ratings, taking in fewer than 12 million each.

In addition, the move appears to be one made to avoid interference with “Sunday Night Football,” and while a Monday night airing means regularly scheduled shows and programming had to shift production and premiere dates by a week to accommodate the event, it may be a smart and solid move for the show to make.

“The last time we had the Emmys on a Monday night, we saw record ratings,” an NBC executive told Variety back in May. “We obviously are hoping for that again and are confident that we can see high numbers.”

This year’s show will see “Saturday Night Live” Weekend Update co-anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che are set to host the show for the first time. The Awards show shifts the network it airs on each year, and previous NBC hosts included fellow “SNL” alums Seth Meyers in 2014 and Jimmy Fallon in 2010.

Among the shows expecting to win big at this year’s ceremony is HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” which leads the pack with 22 nominations for its 7th season and “Westworld,” which received 21 nominations. “Saturday Night Live” also stands to potentially win big with 21 nominations, as do FX’s “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” and “Atlanta” with 18 and 16 nominations respectively.

The 70th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards air Monday, Sept. 17 on NBC.