With a strong 9.8 adults 18-49 rating with 25.8 million viewers from 8PM to 11:30PM, the 2010 Grammy Awards telecast was an unequivocal ratings winner. Up 32% from last year, the show psoted its best ratings in six years.
Beyond that win were half-hour ratings trends that reveal which performances garnered the most interest. As the telecast advertised concrete time frames for most of the performances, the half-hour patterns do matter here–fans knew almost exactly when each of the performances was to air.
Among adults 18-49, the broadcast peaked from 9:30-10PM with a 10.7 rating. Performances in that pinnacle segment, which averaged 28.25 million viewers, included the final moments of Jamie Foxx’s “Blame It” with T-Pain and Slash, Leon Russell and the Zac Brown Band and Taylor Swift’s medley with Stevie Nicks. The segment’s final minutes also included the 3D Michael Jackson tribute.
From a viewership perspective, the peak segment was from 8:30-9PM with 28.33 million. That half-hour, which drew a 10.4 rating, featured the raved-about performances from Beyonce and Pink. Miley Cyrus introduced the Black Eyed Peas at the very end of the half-hour.
The big disappointment, from a half-hour perspective, was the opening portion. While most shows–especially awards shows–tend to start slowly and build their way to a peak, this should have been a bit different in that Lady Gaga’s “surprise” duet had been heavily hyped for the early portion of the show. Nonetheless, the half-hour featuring the Gaga/Elton John performance, as well as Green Day’s duet with the “American Idiot” cast, drew a mere 9.0 rating with 25.41 million viewers.
To its credit, the segment built notably into the 8:30PM half-hour, indicating that those who did watch the first half-hour enjoyed what they saw.
The Bon Jovi-fueled 10-10:30PM half-hour also drew well, posting a 10.5 rating with 27.1 million viewers. Also in the portion were the end of the Michael Jackson tribute and the beginning of the Mary J. Blige/Andrea Bocelli performance.
The 9-9:30PM hour, which featured the bulk of the Black Eyed Peas’ performance, Lady Antebellum’s number and the beginning of “Blame It,” drew 27.31 million viewers with a 10.1 (it is worth noting that the bulk of the performances ended by 9:12).
From 10:30-11PM, the show dipped to 23.26 million viewers and a 9.3 for the end of Blige and Bocelli and a performance from the Dave Matthews Band. The Maxwell-Roberta Flack collaboration was just starting as the clock struck 11PM (final half-hour data was not yet available).
— Elsewhere on television, FOX’s “Family Guy” dipped to a mere 3.2 rating with 6.21 million viewers against the Grammys and the Pro Bowl. “The Simpsons” (5.11 million, 2.4), “The Cleveland Show” (4.53 million, 2.2) and “American Dad” (5.06 million, 2.5) were all soft as well.
NBC’s “Dateline” bombed with a 0.9 and 4.76 million viewers; “SNL Presents: Sports All-Stars” followed with a terrible 1.1 and 3.06 million viewers.
On ABC, “America’s Funniest Home Videos” started at 7PM with a 2.4 and 8.83 million viewers. “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” was soft with 8.53 million and a 2.2, while “Desperate Housewives” was respectable yet unimpressive with a 3.8 and 11.43 million viewers. “Brothers & Sisters” averaged 7.72 million viewers and a 2.4.
Ratings Sources: THR, Media Week