TV Ratings: Grammys down from last year's Whitney tribute, but still dominates Sunday

CBS crushes all competition; 'Revenge' hits series low

By Alan Sepinwall Monday, Feb 11, 2013 11:51 AM

Mumford & Sons at the 2013 Grammys.

Credit: AP

Fast National ratings for Sunday, February 10, 2013.

The 2013 Grammys fell well shy of the monster numbers from last year's show (highlighted by the Whitney Houston memorial), but still annihilated all the competition on Sunday.

From 8 to 11:30 p.m., the Grammys averaged 28.12 million viewers and a 10 rating among adults 18-49. That's down from last year's 39.91 million and 14.1 demo rating, but it was still the second-largest Grammy audience since 1993.

For the night, CBS averaged an 8.2 rating in the 18-49 demo and 24.55 million viewers overall. ABC was way off in the distance with a 1.5 and 5.57 million viewers, followed by FOX (1.8, 3.51 million) and NBC (0.8, 3.48 million).

7 p.m. -- Even without the Grammys, CBS won this hour with "60 Minutes" (1.9, 11.13 million), followed by ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" (1.8, 7.28 million), NBC's "Dateline" (1.2, 5.71 million) and a combination of a "Bob's Burgers" repeat and a "Cleveland Show" original on FOX (1.2, 2.47 million).

8 p.m. -- The Grammys began, and any pretense of competition ceased. For the hour, CBS averaged a 9.9 dem orating and 29.46 million viewers. ABC's "Once Upon a Time" (2.2, 7.02 million) took a small dip, followed by "The Simpsons" and "Bob's Burgers" on FOX (1.9, 3.87 million) and repeats of the Betty White birthday special on NBC (0.6, 3.09 million).

9 p.m. -- The Grammys peaked (10.9, 30.46 million). FOX's pairing of "Family Guy" and "American Dad" (2.2, 4.19 million) was the closest object in the Grammy rearview mirror, followed by a series-low rating for ABC's "Revenge" (1.4, 5.07 million) and a repeat of a "Saturday Night Live" '80s documentary on NBC (0.7, 2.43 million).

10 p.m. -- The Grammys slid back a bit (10.0, 27.14 million) but still crushed more of the "SNL" doc on NBC (0.9, 2.7 million) and "Revenge For Real" on ABC (0.8, 2.9 million).

All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.

Alan Sepinwall
Sr. Editor, What's Alan Watching

Alan Sepinwall has been reviewing television since the mid-'90s, first for Tony Soprano's hometown paper, The Star-Ledger, and now for HitFix. His new book, "The Revolution Was Televised," about the last 15 years of TV drama, is for sale at Amazon. He can be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com