NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) Last night’s big music shindig may have been a hit for the politically minded, but it appears to have been a big flop with viewers, netting a 12.7/21 in metered market ratings, making it the worst-viewed of the 60 annual events.
The ratings were more than a 20 percent decline from last year’s Feb. 13 show, according to Deadline Hollywood, which noted last year’s ceremony was up against the midseason debut of “The Walking Dead” plus other contenders for viewership. Last year’s L.A.-based, Adele-centric show claimed 26 million viewers and a 7.8 rating among adults 18-49.
That show had more viewers than any Grammys show since 2014, but was still the lowest-rated show since 2009, Deadline said.
This year’s Grammy Awards, held in New York City for the first time in 15 years, had the advantage of an earlier time slot and did not battle with “The Walking Dead.” It featured several memorable, if slow, performances, plenty of political stances, a Hillary Clinton cameo, a speech and performance dedicated to the Me Too / Time’s Up movement, and a speech regarding the “Dreamers” and immigration. Yet, while the show addressed social and political issues, the hashtag #GrammysSoMale began to trend on Twitter and was addressed by Recording Academy President Neil Portnow.
