Emmy Awards ratings down nearly 10% from last year

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ratings for the Emmy Awards were down nearly 10% from last year, with the viewer numbers dipping again after a couple of years of growth.

About 6.7 million viewers tuned in to watch the 78th primetime Emmy Awards on NBC, according to data released Tuesday by the network.

“Widow's Bay” from Apple TV was Monday night's biggest winner by far on the telecast hosted by “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” star Mariska Hargitay, setting a record for a comedy with 14 Emmys. “The Pitt” won best drama for the second straight year.

The show aired against the stiff competition of the first Monday Night Football game of the year between the Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos on ESPN.

The Emmys telecast brought in an estimated 6.87 million viewers on ABC in 2024, and 7.42 million on CBS last year.

This year's show was far higher than the all-time low of 4.3 million from the Fox telecast of January 2024, which was delayed by months because of Hollywood’s writers and actors strikes.

The telecast rotates annually between the four broadcast networks.

The Emmys always lag well behind similar awards shows, bringing less than half the viewers of the Oscars or Grammys and significantly fewer than the Golden Globes.

The show's September spot on the calendar means it always has to contend one way or another with football, the one live event that has kept drawing the same big national ratings it always has.

As is typical when the Emmys are on NBC, the show moved from its usual Sunday spot to Monday, so that NBC could air Sunday Night Football. But that meant competing against Monday Night Football. And it did not have a football game as a lead-in as some networks do when they air the ceremony.

The show in the streaming and prestige TV era has had to reckon with nominees that bring with them special buzz but not big audiences. In the 1990s, “Seinfeld” and “ER” were drawing massive viewer numbers along with their Emmy tallies in a way that “Widow’s Bay” and “The Pitt” do not.

The last Emmys to reach more than 10 million viewers was 2018, when it drew in 10.2 million. The show had nearly 22 million viewers in 2000, a level it’s unlikely ever to hit again.

Matthew Rhys poses in the press room with the awards for outstanding lead actor in a limited or anthology series or movie for "The Beast In Me," and outstanding lead actor in a comedy series for "Widow's Bay" during the 78th Emmy Awards on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, at the JW Marriott in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

Meg Stalter, left, and Paul W. Downs arrive at the 78th Emmy Awards on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Host Mariska Hargitay, center, performs during the 78th Emmy Awards on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s trade deficit totaled 1.1 trillion yen ($7 billion) last month as surging oil prices due to the conflicts in the Middle East sent the cost of imports soaring.

It was the fourth straight month of red ink, according to the Finance Ministry’s preliminary data Wednesday.

Resource-poor Japanimports virtually all its oil. Previously that came mostly through the Strait of Hormuz, where traffic has been curtailed due the stalemated Iran war.

Japan’s imports in August rose 28% from the same month a year ago to 11.15 trillion yen ($71.9 billion), as the price of oil soared.

Japan’s exports rose 19.3% to 10 trillion yen ($64.5 billion), mainly in computer chips and autos.

By nation or region, Japan’s exports to the U.S. grew 24.9% from the previous year, while imports from the U.S. rose 55.2%.

Japan’s exports to the Middle East declined 5.2%, while imports from that region fell 4.2%. Japan’s exports to Europe edged up 11%, while imports gained 20.4%.

The price of Brent crude has soared over the last year, from the upper $60 levels per barrel to more than $100. That reached as high as $118 a barrel in April.

The focus is now on what the U.S. and Japan might do on interest rates. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made remarks widely seen as prodding Japan’s central bank to raise interest rates, a move that would support the yen.

The yen has fallen recently against the U.S. dollar, although it briefly gained due to joint intervention by the U.S. and Japan.

The dollar is trading recently at about 155 yen. Some analysts are expecting it to fall to about or below 150 yen later this year.

The Bank of Japan meets later this week to decide on its benchmark interest rate. Markets are already figuring in a raise to 1.25% from the current 1%.

A stronger yen would help at a time when the nation must import oil and other products, including food and raw materials.

It would hurt giant exporters like Toyota Motor Corp., by reducing the value of exports when converted into yen.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is promising more government spending, as well as a reduction of the consumption tax on food.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to lift its short-term interest rate Wednesday for the first time in three years to fight stubbornly high inflation.

Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama

A customer fills up the tank of a vehicle at a gasoline station in Tokyo, on March 18, 2026. (Naoki Kawano/Kyodo News via AP)