Wednesday TV Ratings: 2020 ACM Awards Rock the Night, Despite All-Time Low
The 55th Academy of Country Music Awards offered up a slew of great music in its three-hour CBS block on Wednesday, September 16, but it also grabbed the most viewership for the night in both the 18-49 demo and total viewers with a 1.0 rating and 6.6 million viewers.
Despite the win, those numbers were an all-time low for the show’s 13-year history and a substantial drop from last year (on April 7, 2019), when it brought in a 1.6 rating and 9.9 million viewers, which was then the lowest in the show’s history.
America’s Got Talent came in second in both the demo and total viewers and ABC’s special, Notre Dame: Our Lady in Paris, couldn’t compete with ACM Awards or a rerun of Ellen’s Game of Games. It came in fourth for the night in total viewers with 1.4 million viewers.
Here’s the breakdown for Wednesday, September 16, 2020 (numbers are fast-affiliate based):
| Show | Adults 18-49 rating | Total Viewers (millions) | |
| 8 p.m. | ACM Awards (CBS) | 1.0 | 6.6 |
| America’s Got Talent (NBC) | 0.6 | 5.1 | |
| MasterChef – R (Fox) | 0.5 | 1.6 | |
| The Goldbergs – R (ABC) | 0.4 | 2.2 | |
| The 100 (CW) | 0.2 | 683,000 | |
| 8:30 p.m. | The Conners – R (ABC) | 0.3 | 1.6 |
| 9:00 p.m. | Ellen’s Game of Games – R (NBC) | 0.4 | 2.4 |
| Notre Dame: Our Lady of Paris (ABC) | 0.2 | 1.4 | |
| Coroner (CW) | 0.1 | 754,000 | |
| 10 p.m. | Chicago P.D. – R (NBC) | 0.3 | 1.3 |
