Critics dissed ABC’s Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony last night, and so apparently did viewers. The awards show could be headed for an all-time worst if early numbers don’t improve.

The Emmys averaged 12.2 million total viewers from 8 to 11 p.m., according to Nielsen overnights, about 700,000 fewer than tuned in to last year’s near record-low ceremony on Fox. The record low came in 1990, when the ceremony drew 12.1 million on Fox.

Fast nationals measure timeslot data and not actual program data, so numbers may adjust when final ratings are released tomorrow. But this year’s ceremony actually wrapped up by 11 p.m., so it’s unlikely numbers will move up or down all that much.

The ceremony may have been hurt by the lack of hype, after a year in which scripted television was hampered by the writers’ strike. Poor marks for the show’s presentation probably didn’t help keep viewers tuned in, with critics trashing the five-host format.

The show lost audience during every half hour from 8:30 p.m. on, and its three-hour 3.8 rating in adults 18-49 was off 12 percent from last year’s record-low 4.3.

But the biggest factor was likely the tough primetime competition from NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” which featured the fan favorite Dallas Cowboys against the Green Bay Packers. The game averaged a 7.8 preliminary 18-49 rating, way up from a 5.5 the same night last year.

There may have also been some strong numbers for ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball,” which broadcast the New York Yankees’ last-ever game at Yankee Stadium.

NBC was first for the night among 18-49s with a 6.7 average overnight rating and a 17 share. ABC was second at 3.2/8, CBS third at 2.8/7, Fox fourth at 2.2/6, Univision fifth at 1.0/3 and CW sixth at 0.6/2.
 
CBS started the night in the lead with a 4.8 at 7 p.m. for football overrun and “60 Minutes,” followed by NBC with a 3.5 for “Football Night in America.” Fox was third with a 2.0 for repeats of “American Dad” and “The Simpsons,” ABC fourth with a 1.2 for “Jimmy Kimmel’s Big Night of Stars,” and Univision and CW tied for fifth at 0.6, Univision for the first hour of “Show de los Sueños: Sangre de mi Sangre” and CW for a repeat of “One Tree Hill.”
 
At 8 p.m. NBC took over with a 7.3 for NFL pregame and the first part of the “Sunday Night Football” game between Dallas and Green Bay. ABC was second with a 3.6 for the first hour of the Emmys, CBS third with a 2.4 for a the end of “Minutes” and a “Cold Case” rerun, Fox fourth with a 2.3 for an hour of “Simpsons” repeats, Univision fifth with a 1.2 for more “Sueños” and CW sixth with a 0.4 for a repeat of “Privileged.”
 
NBC led again at 9 p.m. with an 8.3 for football, with ABC second with a 3.9 for the Emmys. Fox was third with a 2.5 for repeats of “Family Guy,” CBS fourth with a 2.0 for another “Case” repeat plus the end of the earlier one, Univision fifth with a 1.2 for still more “Sueños” and CW sixth with a 0.8 for a repeat of “America’s Next Top Model.”
 
At 10 p.m. NBC was first with a 7.8 for another hour of football, followed by ABC with a 3.8 for the Emmys. CBS was third with a 1.8 for a repeat of “Criminal Minds” and the end of “Case,” and Univision fourth with a 1.1 for the end of “Sueños” and “Familia P. Luche.”
 
Among households, NBC led the night with a 10.0 average overnight rating and a 16 share. ABC and CBS tied for second at 6.9/11, with Fox fourth at 3.0/5, Univision fifth at 1.4/2 and CW sixth at 1.0/2.