Sunday TV Ratings: Grammys Suffers a Big Dip From 2020 in Early Numbers

Billie Eilish Finneas 2021 Grammy Awards Acceptance Speech
Cliff Lipson/CBS

The just over three-and-a-half hour 2021 Grammys are on track for new lows as early ratings are in: 1.9 rating in the key demo among adults 18-49 and 7.9 million viewers on the night. (Note: These numbers do not include the West Coast live viewing, at 5/4c local time, so they will be adjusted.) That’s down more than 50 percent from the first numbers for the 2020 ceremony — a 4.8 rating and 16.5 million viewers.

Still, the award show does take the win in the key demo for the night and total viewers in primetime. (60 Minutes, at 7/6c, drew the most viewers, with 8.8 million and a 1.2 rating.)

For the rest of March 14’s programming, compared to last weekAmerican IdolThe Simpsons, The Great North, Bob’s Burgers, and Family Guy were all steady while Good Girls was down. And compared to their previous outings (on February 28), Batwoman and Charmed both were up slightly in viewers.

Here’s the breakdown for Sunday, March 14, 2021 (numbers are fast-affiliate based):

Time Show Adults 18-49 Rating Total Viewers (millions)
8 p.m. American Idol (ABC) 0.8 5.3
Grammy Awards (CBS) 1.9 8.3
The Voice (NBC) 0.3 2.2
The Simpsons (Fox) 0.4 1.3
Batwoman (CW) 0.1 593,000
8:30 p.m. The Great North (Fox) 0.4 1.1
9:00 p.m. American Idol (ABC) 0.8 5.4
Grammy Awards (CBS) 2.1 8.2
Ellen’s Game of Games (NBC) 0.3 1.7
Bob’s Burgers (Fox) 0.5 1.2
Charmed (CW) 0.1 389,000
9:30 p.m. Family Guy (Fox) 0.4 1.2
10 p.m. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (ABC) 0.4 2.9
Grammy Awards (CBS) 1.8 7.1
Good Girls (NBC) 0.3 1.5