Ratings: Grammys Solid; The Walking Dead Returns to Record Numbers
Adele
The Grammy Awards scored its second-biggest audience since 1993 Sunday, while The Walking Dead scared up record numbers yet again.
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The three-and-a-half-hour show expectedly fell from last year's post-Whitney Houston death telecast, which drew 40 million viewers, but it pulled in a solid 28.1 million viewers and a 10.0 in the adults 18-to-49 demographic. The ceremony slipped four-tenths in the demo from last year and matched its 2011 rating.
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ABC and Fox took big hits across the board, with Once Upon a Time (7 million, 2.2) and Revenge (5.07 million, 1.4) hitting series lows. Family Guy (4.6 million, 2.4) was the second-highest rated program of the night.
The Grammys did nothing to slow down The Walking Dead though. The second half of Season 3 returned to 12.3 million viewers, dethroning the season premiere's 10.9 million as the all-time audience high. It also nabbed 7.7 million viewers in the demo, up 6 percent from the season premiere, making it the strongest basic cable telecast in history. The Walking Dead has averaged 6.8 million viewers in the demo this season, outperforming Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men and NCIS.
8 p.m.
CBS: 55th Annual Grammy Awards 28.1 million viewers (10.0 demo rating) [8-11:30 p.m.]
ABC: Once Upon a Time 7 million (2.2)
Fox: The Simpsons 4.3 million (2.1); Bob's Burgers 3.4 million (1.8)
NBC: Betty White's 2nd Annual 90th Birthday Special (R) 3.1 million (0.6)
9 p.m.
ABC: Revenge 5.07 million (1.4)
Fox: Family Guy 4.6 million (2.4); American Dad! 3.8 million (2.0)
NBC: Saturday Night Live in the '80s (R) 2.5 million (0.8) [9-11 p.m.]
10 p.m.
ABC: Revenge for Real 2.9 million (0.8)