Keith & Carrie [CBS]
Sunday’s ACM Awards ceremony averaged a 2.1 adults 18-49 rating and 10.85 million overall viewers, but not all half-hour segments fared equally.
The show drew its best numbers during the 9-9:30PM half hour, which featured performances by Keith Urban & Carrie Underwood, Little Big Town, Lady Antebellum and Brothers Osborne, as well as Little Big Town’s win for Vocal Group.
According to Programming Insider, that half hour drew a 2.3 adults 18-49 rating and averaged 11.70 million overall viewers.
While many awards shows peak during the 9PM half hour, it is worth noting that Sunday’s show faced particularly intense competition in that window. AMC’s “The Walking Dead” season finale, which won the night in adults 18-49, aired from 9-10:30PM.
In terms of adults 18-49, the 8:30-9PM (the end of Maren Morris’ performance, performances by Jason Aldean, Rascal Flatts, Miranda Lambert and Keith Urban, and the Duo Of The Year award) and 9:30-10PM (performances by Kelsea Ballerini, Chris Stapleton, Brett Eldredge, Luke Bryan and Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, as well as the Album Of The Year award) segments of the ACM Awards tied for second place with a 2.2 rating. The former fared better in overall viewership (11.17 million vs. 10.93 million).