That’s about a million more viewers
The Grammys early ratings numbers are in, with the show predicted to have earned a 3% increase over last year in viewership numbers
Last night’s primetime show drew 8.93 million viewers, according to Nielsen time zone-adjusted fast national ratings. That’s still about a million more than early numbers last year (7.88 million), which was a record low for the awards show.
This does not include out-of-home viewing, which CBS projects will add about 700,000 more viewers to the tally. If so, the broadcast will be up about 3% from last year.
According to official numbers, the 2021 Grammys secured 8.8 million total viewers across multiple platforms.
That tally was down a full 10 million viewers from the 2020 telecast (18.8 million total viewers), and basically halved the annual CBS awards show’s previous record-low audience (16.9 million total viewers back in 2006).
The 64th annual awards show was hosted by Trevor Noah for the second year in a row. Although most of the winners were expected – with Silk Sonic, Olivia Rodrigo, and Foo Fighters nabbing multiple prizes – the night’s biggest surprise came at the very end when Jon Batiste won Album of the Year for “We Are.”
Well, perhaps that and the pre-taped address from Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who painted a stark portrait of what life is like for Ukrainians under the continuing invasion by Russian forces.
Read about more memorable moments from the show here. Find the complete winners list here.
Katie Campione
Katie Campione is a TV Reporter at TheWrap. She has contributed to The Hollywood Reporter, People Magazine, The Associated Press, and more. She has a BA in Journalism from the University of Florida. Find her on Twitter: @Katie_Campione