The 2021 Grammy awards show provided viewers with an array of historic milestones, especially for female artists, but far fewer people tuned in to see those memorable moments than usual during music’s biggest annual event.
Sunday night’s broadcast on CBS offered gave Beyoncé a record-breaking number of wins, and offered an eye-popping performance from Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion and a slate of styles from celebrities who mostly joined the festivities remotely.
The broadcast had 8.8 million total viewers across multiple platforms, down 10 million viewers from last year’s telecast of 18.8 million total viewers, the Wrap reported.
The figure approximately halves the annual CBS awards show’s previous record-low audience of 16.9 million total viewers in 2006.
The primetime special, hosted by Trevor Noah of ‘The Daily Show,’ had a 2.1 rating among adults 18-49, according to Nielsen.
The prior low was set last year, when the Grammy Awards received a 5.4 rating in the key demo.