ABC just opted to go without a traditional host at the Oscars for a second straight year but it would consider employing a host for the 2020 Primetime Emmys as the Disney-owned network is targeting double-digit ratings growth for the TV awards show.
ABC, whose turn it is to host the Emmys, announced earlier today that 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards will take place Sept. 22. Last year’s ceremony, carried by Fox, did not have a host. It hit all-time ratings lows.
ABC Entertainment president Karey Burke admitted to Deadline that it was “really early” in the process but that a host is a “consideration” for the Emmys.
“If the right person is going to make a great, must-see show, that’s really the goal, to turn the ratings slide around,” she said. “We’re focused most on how to make a great show. I want the story to come out the next day that says the ratings are up double digits, year-on-year just like we had with the Oscars.”
Jimmy Kimmel hosted the past two Primetime Emmy telecasts on ABC in 2012 and 2016.
When asked who might host the Emmys during the ABC executive session earlier in the day, Burke quipped, “Baby Yoda,” a reference to Disney+’s breakout star.
Before focusing on a host, ABC and the TV Academy need to pick producers for the Emmys. Last year, Don Mischer Productions and Done+Dusted produced the show.
The live annual TV kudos show will be held again at the Microsoft Theater at L.A. Live in Los Angeles. Nominations for this year’s Emmys will be announced July 14.
The 2019 Primetime Emmys on Sunday, September 22 drew 6.9 million viewers and a 1.6 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic for the three-hour-plus show on Fox, the smallest audience for any Emmys ever. That was off 32% from NBC’s Seth Meyers-hosted show in 2018 (on a Monday) and 39% from the Stephen Colbert-hosted 2017 CBS telecast (a Sunday).
In contrast, the host-less 2019 Oscars saw a 12% uptick in viewers and 13% in the adults 18-49 demo over the 2018 show hosted by Kimmel, which had hit an all-time low in total viewers.