Nielsen’s preliminary numbers are in, and they’re not looking good for the 60th Annual Grammy Awards.
The James Corden-hosted, star-studded event earned a 12.7 household rating/21 share in overnight numbers, per TheWrap. That’s a 21 percent drop from last year’s 16 rating/26, when the 2017 telecast notched an impressive 26 million total viewers.
In 2016, the Grammys put up a 16.1/25 rating in the preliminary metric before going on to earn around 25 million total viewers.
LL Cool J hosted the ceremony for five straight years, from 2012 to 2016, and earned the show’s highest-ever viewers in his first year. That 2012 telecast, which was held one day after Whitney Houston’s passing, attracted 39.9 million total viewers, a 14.1 rating and 32 share, per the outlet.
Corden has hosted the last two shows. Final numbers for Sunday night’s broadcast will become available later today.
UPDATE: From 7:30 to 11 p.m., the Grammy earned a 5.9/21 rating and 19.8 million viewers.
Typically, the Grammys have been the second most-watched annual awards show behind the Oscars, which scored nearly 33 million total viewers last year. This year’s Golden Globes slipped slightly and averaged 19 million viewers, while last year’s Emmys took a big hit with just 11.38 million total viewers.
