Television viewership of Grammy awards hits a seven-year low

According to Neilsen, the assessment company’s figures, out of the 24.95 million viewers who watched Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars had maximum viewers. 9.7 million were in the 18-49 demographic coveted by advertisers, CBS said. But the overall number dipped from last year’s 25.3 million viewers, which was itself the smallest TV audience since 2009’s 19.1 million viewers. 

It was a night when many stars such as Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Adele, Lamar and many others performed. 

CBS said the Grammys viewership was the largest audience for any entertainment program this season. The figures do not count the Super Bowl, a sporting event, which drew nearly 112 million viewers on February 7, the most watched show on US television.  

The Grammys come ahead of the annual Oscars ceremony later this month, Hollywood’s biggest night and typically the most-watched entertainment event, drawing more than 36 million U.S. viewers last year. Walt Disney’s ABC television network will broadcast this year’s Academy Awards. 

On social media, the Grammys dominated the conversation on Monday night, with 17.2 million tweets mentioning the show, Twitter said. Sheeran’s win for song of the year was the most-tweeted moment, followed by rapper Kendrick Lamar’s performance, which offered a powerful commentary on racial issues.

Facebook said 21 million people engaged in more than 50 million interactions about the show, and Lady Gaga’s colourful tribute to late singer David Bowie was the most talked-about moment. 

Instagram said 15 million people generated 53 million interactions about the Grammys, and Swift’s photo of herself posing with singer Selena Gomez earned the most ‘likes’ from 2.1 million fans.