TV Ratings: As Expected The Grammys Tanked

Viewership for Sunday’s Grammy Awards on CBS fell to 8.8 million viewers, according to Nielsen, the television research firm.

The NY Times reports that’s a new low for the show and a 53 percent drop compared with last year’s show, which drew 18.7 million viewers. The previous low was 17 million viewers in 2006, when Green Day won record of the year.

Two weeks earlier, the Golden Globes lost 62 percent of its audience, attracting 6.9 million viewers on NBC.

Viewership for all live television events has plummeted as people have seemed less enthusiastic about watching three-hour events packed with commercial breaks. The Super Bowl last month fell to a 15-year low in viewership. And it appears there is limited interest in a ceremony that has been scaled down because of coronavirus precautions.

But unlike the Golden Globes or the most recent Emmy Awards broadcast — which also had a record low in viewership — the Grammy Awards managed to avoid the use of Zoom to power the ceremony. And the show did not lack in star power, with performances by Harry Styles, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B.

The show, at more than three and a half hours, drew praise for its production, with a mix of live performances and a small ceremony in an open-air tent outside the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. Trevor Noah, the show’s host, likewise received warm reviews.

Still, the ratings news is likely to set off alarm bells for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Academy Awards’ broadcaster, ABC. Viewership of last year’s Oscars broadcast fell to a low of 23.6 million. Nominees for this year’s awards were announced Monday, and the ceremony is scheduled for April 25.