Grammy Audience Decreases Again, Down 1 Million Viewers

Music’s biggest night is declining in popularity.

According to Nielsen ratings, Sunday night’s 68th annual Grammys broadcast drew in 14.4 million viewers across CBS and Paramount+, down by about six percent from last year’s 15.4 million viewers and nine percent from 2024’s broadcast, which had its highest ratings since the COVID-19 pandemic with 17.09 million viewers. This marks the second consecutive year of declining viewership, in contrast with growing ratings for other awards shows.

The largest decline came from younger viewers, with 2 million viewers tuning in between ages 18 and 34, down 20% from last year’s viewership of 2.4 million. Despite the decline, the broadcast was still the most-watched awards ceremony since the 2025 Academy Awards. It was also the highest-rated broadcast for Sunday night and the most-viewed primetime broadcast that week.

Consumption Is Changing

The Grammys also performed well online, as it did last year, with the most social-media engagement on television over the last six months. It received 74.8 million total interactions and over 302 million video views, according to Social Content Ratings.

Rapper Kendrick Lamar was the biggest winner of the night—he was nominated for nine awards and won five, including Record of the Year and Best Melodic Rap Performance, both for “Luther,” his collaboration with SZA. Those wins mean he now has the most awards of any rapper in Grammys. history.

Bad Bunny also made history with his win for Album of the Year for Debí Tirar Más Fotos, as it was the first time a Spanish-language album has won. The win came just one week before his scheduled Super Bowl halftime show. Other winners included Billie Eilish for Song of the Year and Olivia Dean for Best New Artist. Many winners used their speeches as an opportunity to speak out on political issues.

The Grammys have aired on CBS for over 50 years, starting in 1973, but will move to Disney, including ABC, Disney+, and Hulu, next year as part of a 10-year deal with the Recording Academy. This was also the final year the show will be hosted by comedian Trevor Noah, who has been in the role for the past six years.