Fast National ratings for Sunday, February 8, 2015.
CBS' broadcast of the 2015 Grammy Awards was down double-digits from last year's Grammys telecast among young viewers and also dropped overall, but still dominated Sunday in all measures.
Whereas ratings on normal live events are preliminary, CBS stubbornly refuses to air the Grammys live nationwide, however the telecast ran 45 minutes outside of primetime, so these aren't the ratings for the 2015 Grammys so much as the ratings for the primetime segment of the 2015 Grammys.
Those numbers will come later, as will numbers for the “Walking Dead” winter premiere, though this will probably be a rare circumstance in which “Walking Dead” wasn't the night's top show.
Certainly nothing on network TV was able to get any traction against the Grammys, which crushed FOX's original comedy slat, an “American Ninja Warrior” special on NBC and a screening of “The Hunger Games” on ABC.
On to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, CBS averaged a 7.0 rating for Sunday night, tops in the key demographic. ABC's 1.1 key demo rating and the 1.0 key demo rating for FOX followed at a distance, while NBC averaged a 0.7 key demo rating for the night.
Overall, CBS averaged an estimated 22.1 million viewers and a 12.7 rating/20 share for Sunday primetime. ABC was a distant second with 4.24 million viewers and a 2.5/4, followed by NBC's 3.185 million viewers and 2.0/3. FOX averaged a 1.3/2 and 2.16 million viewers for the night.
7 p.m. – CBS started primetime in first with 9.13 million viewers and a 1.3 rating among adults 18-49 for “60 Minutes” in the 7 p.m. hour. ABC's “America's Funniest Home Videos” was second with 6.32 million viewers and tied for first with a 1.3 key demo rating. NBC's “Dateline” was third with 5.47 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating. FOX trailed with a new “Mulaney” (1.22 million viewers and a 0.5 key demo) and a “Simpsons” repeat (1.59 million and a 0.7 key demo).
8 p.m. – The first hour of the Grammys telecast averaged 27.03 million viewers and an 8.7 rating among adults 18-49 for CBS. ABC's “Hunger Games” broadcast averaged 3.58 million viewers for second and a 1.0 key demo rating in third. FOX was third overall and second in the key demo with new episodes of “The Simpsons” (2.85 million and a 1.2 key demo) and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” (2.63 million and a 1.2 key demo). NBC's “American Ninja Warrior” special averaged 2.39 million viewers and a 0.6 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – The Grammys telecast went up slightly to 27.25 million viewers and a 9.3 rating among adults 18-49 for CBS in the 9 p.m. hour. ABC's movie averaged 3.39 million viewers for second and a 1.1 key demo rating for third. FOX stayed third overall and second in the key demo with “Family Guy” (2.75 million and a 1.4 key demo) and “Bob's Burgers” (1.93 million and a 1.0 key demo). NBC's “American Ninja Warrior” averaged 2.2 million viewers and a 0.6 key demo rating for fourth.
10 p.m. – The primetime portion of the Grammys concluded with 24.21 million viewers and an 8.3 rating among adults 18-49 for CBS. ABC's “Hunger Games” averaged 3.435 million viewers and a 1.1 key demo rating for second, topping the 2.435 million viewers and 0.7 key demo rating for NBC's “American Ninja Warrior.”
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change, particularly in the case of live events.