The ACM Awards hit an all-time TV ratings low among adults 18-49 on CBS Sunday night, with a show that also pulled in the event’s smallest total-viewer tally in 12 years.
The 54th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards put up a 1.6 rating in the advertiser-coveted demographic for the evening — its lowest on record — and brought in 9.903 million viewers, which is the smallest overall-eyeball count it’s hit since the 2007 show posted 9.275 million viewers.
The Reba McEntire-hosted broadcast was also down 24 percent in the key demo and 18 percent in total viewers vs. the year-ago ACMs. However, the show’s Nielsen numbers still landed CBS first place in both measures for the evening.
CBS was first in ratings with a 1.4 rating/7 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with an average of 9.8 million, according to preliminary numbers. At 7 p.m., “60 Minutes” earned a 0.9/5 and 9.3 million viewers. From 8-11, the ACM Awards scored the above rating and total-viewers count, along with a 7 share.
ABC was second in ratings with a 0.9/4 and in viewers with 5.3 million. “America’s Funniest Home Videos” at 7 received a 0.8/4 and 5.1 million viewers. At 8, “American Idol” landed a 1.0/4 and 6.1 million viewers. At 10, “Shark Tank” had a 0.8/4 and 3.8 million viewers.
NBC and Fox tied for third in ratings, each with a 0.6/3. NBC was third in viewers with 2.9 million and Fox was fourth with 1.455 million.
For NBC, following a repeat of “Ellen’s Game of Games,” “World of Dance” at 8 settled for a 0.7/3 and 3.2 million viewers. At 10, “Good Girls” managed a 0.6/3 and 2.4 million viewers.
For Fox, after a pair of reruns, “The Simpsons” at 8 had a 0.7/3 and 1.6 million viewers. At 8:30, “Bob’s Burgers” took a 0.8/3 and 1.7 million viewers. The network closed its primetime block was two more encores.
Univision and Telemundo tied for fifth in ratings, both with a 0.4/2. Univision was fifth in viewers with 1.447 million, Telemundo was sixth with 1.1 million.
The CW was seventh in ratings with a 0.1/1 and in viewers with 498,000, airing only repeats.