Grammys: Nomination special a dud in the ratings

Last night's Grammy nomination special on CBS didn't exactly light-up the airwaves. Scott Collins posted the details on Show Tracker, noting the following:

To get the jump on the Grammy Awards Feb. 8, CBS tried a first-ever experiment Wednesday, devoting an hourlong special to a prime-time concert featuring stars such as Christina Aguilera, along with an announcement of the major nominations.

Audiences didn't seem thrilled. An average of 7.1 million total viewers tuned in, according to early data from Nielsen Media Research, which landed CBS in fourth place for the time period (it was third among viewers ages 18 to 49). Worse, the audience tumbled 22% from the first half-hour to the second, a sure sign of viewer noninterest. CBS can only hope for better numbers for the real Grammys in February; this year's ceremony garnered 17.2 million viewers.

CBS did better with its peekaboo perennial, the "Victoria's Secret Fashion Show," which rounded up 8.7 million viewers and won the 10 p.m. timeslot in 18-49, where it was up a big 38% compared with last year.

More ratings news on the TV blog.