Grammys 2018: TV Ratings Tumble From Recent Years
Sunday’s Bruno Mars-loving Grammy Awards took a steep ratings spill by the first-available metrics.
The show, which ran a bloated three-and-a-half hours, was off an unfortunate 21 percent from 2017 in early numbers. Overnight returns from Nielsen Media give it a 12.7 rating among households — marking its biggest drop since the 2013, the year after the show swelled following the death of Whitney Houston.
Such a steep drop, however, could very well mean an all-time low for the calendar’s biggest music awards show once updated numbers arrive.
The 2017 overnight ratings for the Grammy Awards didn’t paint the most accurate portrait of their year-over-year performance. The 16.0 rating among households, steady with 2016, ended up translating to a not-insignificant gain of 1 million viewers. Those Grammys were the best in two years, averaging just north of 26 million viewers and earning a 7.8 rating among adults 18-49.
CBS shifted the Grammys back to Sundays in 2017, a move that ultimately proved fruitful for the show. But, unlike the last few years, the 2018 Grammys happened rather early on the calendar — by a full two weeks. The Grammys last aired in January back in 2014.
Full viewership data for CBS’ Grammy coverage will be available later on Monday.
This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.