Has Bieber Fever broken?
Justin Bieber swept the top categories at the 40th American Music Awards, winning three of the night’s biggest categories, but ratings were down sharply from last year.
ABC’s telecast Sunday night AMAs telecast delivered 9.5 million viewers and a 3.4 rating, falling 21 percent to an all-time low.
In a way, this performance goes against the ratings trend. In recent years, broadcast scripted shows have been on a downward slope thanks to cable and DVRs, but awards programs have been seemingly immune. The working theory is that the more urgency you can create around a telecast, the better the numbers. So sporting events, competition reality shows and award shows have often out-performed other types of programming because viewers want to enjoy the immediacy of the event and not get spoiled by headlines revealing the outcome the next day. Obviously, last night, not so much.
ABC points out the telecast was up against tough competition from NBC’s Sunday Night Football and some NFL overrun on CBS, though sports and music award show audiences don’t hugely overlap.
EW
That's what these guys get for not having the pop gurls slay and attend