CBS' broadcast of the 54th
Grammy Awards ballooned 41% from last year's awards to a 14.1 rating in the
18-49 demo, according to Nielsen overnight numbers. The awards show drew
39 million total viewers for its second-largest audience in the show's history and the largest audience since 1984,
no doubt buoyed by the numerous tributes to Whitney Houston, who died suddenly on
Saturday. (Note: The numbers reflect only from 8-11 p.m.)
The rest of the broadcast networks suffered greatly from the
competition, all posting double-digit decreases from their previous airings. In
a distant second, ABC posted a 1.9 rating/4 share; Once Upon a Time, returning from its last airing on Jan. 29, was
down 14% to a 3.0. Desperate Housewives was
down 31% from its last airing on Jan. 22 to a 1.8. Pan Am, hitting its series low, was down 46% to a 0.7.
Fox returned its Animation Domination lineup after a
two-week hiatus for an overall 1.7/4, putting it in third. The Simpsons was down 17% to a 2.0. Napoleon Dynamite and Family Guy were
both down 19% to a 1.7 and 2.5, respectively. American Dad slipped 29% to a 1.7.
NBC followed with an overall 1.5/4, airing Dateline NBC at 8 p.m. for a 1.6. A
two-hour Fear Factor, returning from
a Monday night airing on Jan. 9, was down 35% from that episode to a series-low
1.5.
