Grammy Show Is Hit With Viewers
January 28, 2014
By Ryan Faughnder
LOS ANGELES — With big performances, a mass wedding and Pharrell Williams’ giant hat getting much of the attention, the 56th Grammy Awards broadcast drew its second-biggest audience in 21 years Sunday night.
The show drew an average of 28.5 million viewers to CBS over three hours, 45 minutes, according to Nielsen. That’s up slightly from the 28.4 million people last year’s awards gala brought in but well below the record of 40 million who watched the 2012 show that aired after Whitney Houston’s death.
Sunday’s telecast earned a rating of 9.9 in the advertiser-desired 18-to-49 age group, down about 2 percent from last year.
Just 10 awards were presented during the marathon show, which was dominated by high-profile collaborations, some obvious (Beyonce with Jay Z) and some less so (Metallica with flashy pianist Lang Lang, and Robin Thicke with Chicago).
Daft Punk, the masked electronic duo from France, left with the honors for album and record of the year. The night was also notable for a wedding staged during a performance of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ “Same Love,” during which 33 couples were married by Queen Latifah.
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