The 47th annual Grammy Awards on CBS, airing opposite original episodes of ABC's hot series "Desperate Housewives" and "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," posted their smallest ratings in eight years but still won the night for the Eye.
According to preliminary nationals from Nielsen, the primetime portion of the Grammys (8-11 p.m.) averaged an 8.2 rating/19 share in adults 18-49 and 19.2 million viewers overall, peaking in the 10 o'clock half-hour with an 8.7/20 in the demo.
The Grammys topped ABC head-to-head at 8 opposite "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (6.8/16 in adults 18-49, 16.6 million viewers overall) and at 10 against "Boston Legal" (5.1/12 in adults 18-49, 13.6 million viewers overall), but settled for second place at 9 opposite "Desperate Housewives" (9.6/21 in adults 18-49, 22.1 million viewers overall).
While the Grammys kudocast delivered its lowest 18-49 rating since 1997 and was down more than 25% year-to-year, the ABC hits were affected too, finishing on the lower end of their ratings range for original segs.
Elsewhere, NBC and Fox were in a tight battle for third place, with both delivering less than half the nightly rating of either CBS or ABC.
The Peacock was paced by "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (3.8/9 in adults 18-49, 13.4 million viewers overall) and "Crossing Jordan" (3.8/9 in adults 18-49, 12.2 million viewers overall), Fox by "The Simpsons" (3.8/9 in adults 18-49, 8.1 million viewers overall).
Preliminary adults 18-49 averages for the night: CBS, 6.8/16; ABC, 6.4/15; NBC, 2.8/7; Fox, 2.7/6; WB, 0.8/2.
In total viewers: CBS, 17.6 million; ABC, 15.7 million; NBC, 10.2 million; Fox, 5.7 million; WB, 1.9 million.
Contact Rick Kissell at
rick.kissell@variety.com