Jonas Brothers. Stevie Wonder. Must-Be-Seen-to-Be-Believed TV.

Jonas Brothers, Steve Wonder John Shearer/Getty Image

Weekend TV's Big Winner, Besides Coldplay, et al: The Grammys. From 8-11:30 p.m., the show averaged an estimated 19.1 million, CBS said. If the number holds, the show will have grown by nearly 2 million viewers from last year, and will have scored its second-biggest audience of the past five telecasts.

Guess You Had to See It to Believe It: The Jonas Brothers-Stevie Wonder jam aired during the Grammys' most-watched prime-time half-hour, averaging 21.3 million from 9-9:30 p.m., Nielsen estimates showed.

Don't Take It Personally, Neil Diamond: Like many shows, the Grammys petered out as the night wore on. The show's 10:30 p.m. half-hour, featuring performances by Diamond and a John Mayer-assisted Bo Diddley tribute, was its least-watched in prime time, with 17.6 million viewers.

How'd the Grammys Stack Up Against American Idol? Better, but let's not lose our heads.      

Even in the Grammys' biggest prime-time hour, featuring Jonas Brothers, Wonder, Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl, Kenny Chesney, Katy Perry and the kitchen sink, the show didn't come within 6 million viewers of, say, last Wednesday's American Idol, featuring Bikini Girl and a bunch of bickering teenagers.

In the 18-49 demo, Wednesday's Idol outrated the Grammys' 9 p.m. hour by nearly 20 percent.

Etc.: Desperate Housewives (13.7 million) and Brothers & Sisters (9.3 million) had better luck against the Grammys than the NFL playoffs; 60 Minutes (16.8 million) cashed in on an interview with the hero pilot behind the Hudson River landing; NBC continued to repel 18- to 49-year-olds with TV movies and miniseries (the latest being Sunday's XIII).

Friday Night Lights Watch: Fourth place in viewers (4.2 million on Friday night, as reported by MediaWeek); fourth place in the 18-49 demo; needing a Hail Mary, pronto.      

Related Stories

View Next Articles

78 Comments

Now loading...

Add Your Comment!

Guests

E! Online members

Register | Forgot password?

Play nice and have fun. And please, no HTML tags or special characters including [&*#()!@$].
You've got 1000 characters left.

Post Comment
Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player.