The ceremony was held on Monday, August 25, 2014, at the Nokia Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, California, and was broadcast in the U.S. by NBC.

[1] Breaking Bad was the major winner of the night, with five wins, including its second Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series for the second part of its fifth season.

[2] The ceremony's unusual date – a Monday night in late August – was due to two factors, primary being NBC's commitment to Sunday Night Football; since acquiring the National Football League's Sunday night game package in 2006, NBC, when it is their turn in the four-network rotation to air the Primetime Emmy Awards, usually schedules the ceremony for the Sunday before Labor Day weekend, to avoid conflicts with SNF in mid-September (when ABC, CBS or Fox normally air the ceremony).

[Note 1] NBC's ideal date on the 2014 calendar for the ceremony (Sunday, August 24) led to the other scheduling factor — MTV's Video Music Awards, which were set for that night more than a year in advance[12] (and would be staged in the L.A. area as well, at The Forum in Inglewood).

[13] On November 14, 2013, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced that it would implement online voting for its members to select the nominees.

[20][21] Despite its departure from its normal telecast schedule, the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards received 15.59 million viewers, the second-largest viewership in eight years.