*By Max Godnick*
Live from Hollywood, it's a scramble for ratings.
"Saturday Night Live" cast members Michael Che and Colin Jost on Monday night will trade in their "Weekend Update" suits for tuxedos as co-hosts of the TV industry's big night ー the 70th annual Emmy Awards. They're also joining legendary SNL creator and EP of "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," Lorne Michaels, in an attempt to revive the show's ailing ratings. Michaels, who has also produced a handful of sleeper-hit comedy films and heads "Late Night with Seth Meyers," will return to the award show for the first time since the late-eighties.
"Lorne Michaels has been putting together a live show for an eternity, so he knows what he's doing," managing editor of Cinemablend Sean O'Connell said Thursday in an interview with Cheddar.
But even Michaels's golden touch might not be enough.
The Emmys are consistently the lowest-rated of the four major awards shows (which include the Oscars, Grammys, and Golden Globes) and will be coming off the ceremony's second-lowest ratings ever in [2017](https://variety.com/2017/tv/news/2017-emmys-ratings-1202562498/).
But the ratings malaise is undiscriminating and near-universal ー all the major industry contests have [struggled](https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/oscars-early-ratings-shape-of-water-down-1202718015/) to sustain viewership in the streaming era.
"As a society, we're tired of awards shows," O'Connell said. "It's the same thing year after year after year."
In today's so-called golden age of TV, it would be fair to assume that an onslaught of prestige shows would naturally lead to a spike in audiences who want to see the awards fate of their favorites.
This year, the top contenders at the Emmys are among the most popular and critically acclaimed programs in the history of the medium.
"Game of Thrones," "The Handmaid's Tale," "Atlanta," and "Stranger Things" will be in the lineup of series hoping to hear their names called on Monday; there just may not be many fans tuning in to see that happen.
"It's show after show of really popular programming," O'Connell said of the nominees. "Maybe \[the low ratings are\] just because \[audiences\] decided they'd rather go watch some of those episodes."
Hemorrhaging ratings aside, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences will feature some of the most competitive races in recent memory.
Netflix is the most-nominated network, [ending HBO's 17-year streak](https://cheddar.com/videos/netflix-dethrones-hbo-in-most-emmy-nominations) of dominance. But the likeliest recipients of the night's most prestigious award, "Outstanding Drama Series," hail from HBO and Hulu. It's been over a year since viewers last traveled to Westeros, and the final season of "Game of Thrones" will not arrive until 2019. Even still, its seventh season is the Emmys' most-nominated show. It will face off against the season two of the category's defending champion, Hulu's "The Handmaid's Tale."
O'Connell thinks the long absence will ultimately hurt HBO's flagship series.
"'Handmaid's Tale' has stayed really relevant," he said. "It's stayed in the headlines, it's such an incredible program, I could see it dominating on Monday."
The competition is also strong in the "Outstanding Comedy" field, where mainstays "Modern Family" and "Veep" are missing for the first time since 2010. That will leave space for newcomers "Barry" and "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" to emerge as the genre's victor. O'Connell thinks Bill Hader's raved-about portrayal of a hitman-turned-actor will be rewarded.
"Sometimes the Emmys like to surprise and get ahead of the curve," he said. "I think that they could make a statement by choosing \['Barry'\] as best comedy."
The 70th Primetime Emmy Awards will air Monday night on NBC.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/can-the-emmys-broadcast-fix-its-ratings-problem).
It was 'game on' for sports bettors in the state of New York, as mobile betting kicked off on four major betting operating platforms Saturday. This comes at an exciting time for sports fans with some of the biggest NFL games of the season right around the corner. Cam Rogers - Host of Lock It In with Cam Rogers, Betting Analyst at the Bleav Podcast Network joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
The United States purchased over 600,000 doses of a monoclonal antibody treatment from Glaxosmithkline and Vir Biotechnology, bringing the total worldwide doses purchased to 1.7 million. This comes as the country attempts to ramp up treatment options as cases of the omicron variant continue to surge. Dr. Asha Shah, Director of Infectious Diseases at Stamford Health joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Former wide receiver for the New York Giants, Victor Cruz has partnered with Krystal Restaurants, a popular burger chain in the South, to bring the franchise to his home state of New Jersey. Cruz and Alice Crowder, CMO of Krystal Restaurants, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the venture. The five new locations will be known as "Victor Cruz's Krystal," decked out with memorabilia from his football career, with the former player explaining how "hands-on" he plans on being. "You never know, OK? You might walk in and Victor Cruz will be flipping a burger back there, and you might be getting it directly from the source," he said.
Max Bichsel, vice president at Gambling.com Group joins Cheddar News to talk about the growing sports betting industry, New York legalizing mobile betting, and 2022 predictions for the sector.
Cody Roark, NFL analyst at Pro Football Network joins Cheddar News to talk about NFL playoff predictions and which teams have a shot at the Super Bowl.
Mario Stefanidis, Vice President of Research at Roundhill Investments, joined Wake Up With Cheddar to break down the implications of the Take-Two deal to purchase Zynga, as the gaming giant looks to become a major player in mobile gaming.
Covid cases have started to spike again across the nation, and this time they seem to be hitting some of our youngest and most vulnerable - school-aged children. School districts across the nation - including the country's largest public school system in New York City- are all grappling with what to do as teachers and students alike continue to miss school in droves.
Katie Honan, reporter for the New York City-based non profit news organization, The City explains how educational leaders across the country are handling covid demands from both teachers and parents alike.
For the first time since September, Bitcoin fell below $40,000 early Monday. The currency's average short-term price has now dipped below its average long-term price, which is known by a rather dramatic term, a death cross. According to analysts, the indicator appears to be a result of mounting concerns of faster liquidity withdrawal by the US Federal Reserve. The crypto slump also follows a week of rough trading for equities overall. CEO Snickerdoodle Labs and Co-Founder of the Stanford Future of Digital Currency Initiative, Jonathan Padilla, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Throughout this pandemic, we witnessed a mass exodus of women in particular, from the workforce. A number of women say an increase in home and child care responsibilities forced them to make a decision they never thought they would; to simply quit their jobs. Many others had the decision made for them and were laid off. In fact, we did a LinkedIn poll today where 29 percent of women said their careers took a back seat. Reporting Fellow at Type Media Center and Author of "Work Won't Love You Back" Sarah Jaffe, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
David Bowie's entire catalog of songs has officially been sold to Warner Music Group by his estate for an estimated $250 million. This means the group now has the full rights to almost all of David Bowie's recordings. But Bowie, just the latest music mega deal. Just last month, Bruce Springsteen sold his entire catalog to Sony Music Entertainment at what in fact maybe be the biggest transaction ever for a single artist's body of work. In addition, John Legend also cashed in by selling rights to his songs from 2004 to early last year. Culture Correspondent at NPR, Anastasia Tsioulcas, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
