Grammys 2018: TV ratings drop to near record low

The US television audience for Sunday’s Grammy Awards show on CBS Corp. fell by more than eight million viewers and could be one of the lowest audiences on record, early Nielsen ratings data showed on Monday.

Variety and TVLine.com reported that 17.6 million Americans tuned in for the three and a half hour broadcast, a more than 30% drop from 2017 when some 26.1 million television viewers watched.

If the early figures are confirmed when final data comes out later on Monday, it will be the least-watched Grammy Awards show since 2008, when 17.2 million people saw the television broadcast.

The lowest audience for any Grammy Awards show came in 2006, which drew an audience of 17 million.

Sunday’s 60th anniversary Grammy Awards, staged in New York over three and a half hours, saw R&B singer Bruno Mars win six statuettes, while rapper Kendrick Lamar won five.

Jay-Z, who had gone into the show with eight nominations, won nothing.

Audiences for the Grammys had risen in 2016 and 2017.

Final, official audience data for the show will be released later on Monday.