NBC's 'Emmy' telecast delivers event's second-biggest overall audience in 8 years

66th Emmy Awards, Hosted by Seth Meyers, generates the most-watched night on any net since the Oscars in March

For the night, NBC tops the combined "Big 4" competition

NBC's telecast of the 66^th Primetime Emmy Awards has generated the second biggest overall audience for an Emmys telecast in eight years, and equaled the second highest Emmy rating in adults 18-49 in seven years, according to official national ratings from Nielsen Media Research.

Monday from 8-11 p.m. and live in all time zones, the Emmys coverage, hosted by Seth Meyers, averaged a 4.2 rating in adults 18-49 and 15.6 million viewers overall.

The 15.6 million viewers is the second biggest overall audience for the Emmys since 2006, trailing over that span only the 17.8 million for last year's telecast, which benefited from Sunday scheduling, a September airdate and a high-rated NFL lead-in. Excluding those 2013 results, this is the top Emmys in total viewers since the Sunday, Aug. 27, 2006, telecast on NBC averaged 16.2 million viewers.

In adults 18-49, the 4.2 rating matches the second highest since the 2007 coverage on FOX averaged a 4.3 on Sunday, Sept. 16, trailing over that span only last year's 4.9 on CBS and tying 4.2s in 2009 and 2011.

The 15.6 million makes this the most-watched night on any network since ABC's Academy Awards on March 2 (35.2 million).

Social-media numbers were also strong for the Emmys, which grew 19 percent versus one year ago to 1.1 million tweets according to Nielsen Twitter TV Ratings. The number of unique tweeters/authors increased versus 2013 by 12 percent to 370,000.

The Emmys topped the combined "Big 4" competition in primetime, with a 4.2 rating edging the combined 4.1 of FOX (1.8 in fast national ratings, subject to adjustment), ABC (1.2) and CBS (1.1), while the 15.6 million in total viewers beat the combined total of 14.0 million for CBS (5.0 million), FOX (4.7 million) and ABC (4.3 million). NBC ranked No. 1 for the night in every key ratings measure - adults, men and women 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54, plus total viewers.

The Monday telecast finished within 12 percent of last year's NFL-boosted coverage on CBS in total viewers (15.6 million vs. 17.8 million) and within 14 percent in 18-49 rating (4.2 vs. 4.9).

Versus the last Emmys to not follow an NFL lead-in, the Sept. 23, 2012, telecast on ABC, this year's coverage was up 18 percent in total viewers (15.6 million vs. 13.3 million) and up 8 percent in 18-49 (4.2 vs. 3.9).

The 66^th Primetime Emmy Awards attracted NBC's biggest total-viewer result in the Monday 8-11 p.m. ET time period (15.6 million), excluding Olympics, in more than two years (since the "Voice" regular-slot season premiere boosted NBC to 15.7 million on Feb. 6, 2012). In 18-49, the 4.2 rating matches NBC's highest for a non-Olympic Monday since Sept. 23, 2013 (when "Voice" and "Blacklist" debuts averaged a 4.7).

The "Emmys" were televised live to all time zones, and some western markets also carried an encore telecast immediately following the live coverage.

From 7:30-8 p.m. on NBC stations reaching 85 percent of the country, the "Emmy Red Carpet Special" averaged a 1.0/4 in adults 18-49 and 4.9 million viewers overall, results that were in line with the hour-long "Red Carpet" special that ran the last time NBC carried the Emmys (1.2/4 in 18-49, 5.2 million viewers overall from 7-8 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 29, 2010).