TV Ratings: Grammys Score Biggest Audience Since Pre-Pandemic
Taylor Swift's big night helps CBS to double-digit increases over the 2023 awards.
Taylor Swift accepts the album of the year award for ‘Midnights’ at the Grammys on Feb. 4, 2024.
Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesThe Grammy Awards recorded their biggest TV audience in four years on Sunday, posting big ratings improvements over the 2023 ceremony.
CBS’ telecast, which saw Taylor Swift take home album of the year honors and best pop vocal album, drew 16.9 million viewers, based on time zone-adjusted fast national ratings from Nielsen. That’s the biggest tune-in for the Grammys since 2020, the last one held before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The awards were up 34 percent year to year, rising from 12.55 million viewers in 2023. The 16.9 million viewers for the CBS broadcast does not include streaming; the network says Paramount+’s live stream of the Grammys more than doubled in viewers year to year but didn’t provide concrete numbers (as is typical for streaming outlets).
The sizable growth for the Grammys is in keeping with that of the Golden Globe Awards, which rose 51 percent year to year (with an assist from an NFL lead-in). CBS aired the Globes in January after they moved from their long-time home at NBC. The displaced Emmy Awards, on the other hand, suffered more declines airing four months later than usual on Fox.
E!’s coverage of the Grammys red carpet also scored its biggest audience since 2020. The pre-show averaged 1.5 million viewers, up from 1.1 million a year go.
Complete ratings for Sunday, including final same-day viewer counts and demographic figures, will be available Tuesday morning.