She might be the top-selling artist in country music, and she might have swept the CMAs, but Taylor Swift was not the biggest live draw on Wednesday’s broadcast.
Rather, as a half-hour breakdown reveals, it was a collection of acts that included Carrie Underwood and Daughtry who brought the show to a peak for their live performances.
The 9-9:30PM half hour, which featured Underwood’s performance, as well as the Daughtry-Vince Gill collaboration and performances from Tim McGraw and Keith Urban, averaged 18.1 million viewers and a 5.6 adults 18-49 rating, which was above the 16.9 million viewer, 5.2 rating average for the 8-11PM broadcast.
9:30-10PM, which featured performances from names like Sugarland and Brooks & Dunn, was the second-highest-rated segment with 17.3 million viewers and a 5.4 rating.
Swift’s performances in the 8-8:30PM and 10-10:30PM half hours drew 16.8 million/4.8 and 16.2/5.1, respectively.
Granted, the data cannot be used to totally dismiss Swift. Her crossover success as a country artist certainly positioned this year’s show for a great deal of hype (and was likely responsible for a portion of the year-over-year ratings increase), and a case can certainly be made that performing in the 9PM hour is the best way to pop a rating (and, as the 9-9:30PM segment was loaded with performances, it really had no option but to draw well). Had Swift performed with that all-star lineup at 9PM, the rating might have been even higher.
Nonetheless, what can be said is that from a performance perspective, Swift was not a particularly bigger draw than some of the other major names in pop/country/rock even if analysis from a sales and mainstream buzz perspective speaks to the contrary.
Note: The utilization of a half-hour breakdown methodology is sometimes criticized, as some argue that it is the appeal of the past segment that determines whether people will stick around for the next half hour. While that is certainly valid in the case of scripted programs, awards shows are heavily compartmentalized and built around different performances and awards announcements coming at different times. Consequently, as there definitely is a portion of the audience that seeks out specific performances throughout the broadcast, it is fair to use the ratings breakdown to assess interest.
Data Sources: Nielsen Media Research, MediaWeek