The Grammy Awards have joined a host of other awards shows in experiencing sizable ratings losses.
CBS’ broadcast of the awards drew 9.23 million viewers and a 2.28 rating among adults 18-49 in Nielsen’s final same-day ratings for Sunday (vs. 8.8 million and 2.1 in earlier ratings, which didn’t include out of home viewing). Both figures are all-time lows for the Grammys and down sharply from last year. Sunday’s show fell 51 percent in total viewers (from 18.69 million) and 58 percent in the 18-49 demographic (from 5.4).
The Grammys also came in well behind CBS’ performance last Sunday, when the network drew 17.8 million viewers for Oprah Winfrey’s interview special with Meghan Markle and Britain’s Prince Harry about their stepping back as senior members of the royal family.
The Grammys join the Golden Globes, CMA Awards, American Music Awards and Academy of Country Music Awards in suffering steep declines this season. CBS notes, however, that the Grammys have scored the biggest awards show audience of the 2020-21 season thus far.
Taylor Swift won album at the year at the Grammys for Folklore, and Beyoncé set a Grammy record with her 28th win, the most ever by a female artist.
ABC’s American Idol was the top show on all other cable and broadcast networks in primetime, scoring a 0.83 rating among adults 18-49 and 5.5 million viewers.
Bookmark THR.com/Ratings for more ratings news and numbers.
March 15, 12:40 p.m. Updated with adjusted preliminary ratings for the Grammys.
March 16, 9:35 a.m. Updated with final Sunday ratings.