Grammys TV audience down sharply compared with 2012

LOS ANGELES Feb 11 (Reuters) - Some 28.1 million Americans watched the Grammy Awards show on television, down 30 percent from last year's emotion-filled ceremony following the death of singer Whitney Houston, early ratings data showed on Monday.

Despite the lower numbers, Sunday's 3-1/2-hour show broadcast live on CBS came in as the second-largest TV audience for the music industry's big night since 1993.

The 2012 telecast, which took place one day after Houston was found drowned in a bathtub in a Beverly Hills hotel, drew 39.9 million viewers and was the second-largest Grammy TV audience ever.

This year's show in Los Angeles was dominated by mostly young or lesser-known artists. English folk band Mumford & Sons won Album of the Year for "Babel," indie-pop trio FUN. won Song of the Year for "We Are Young," and U.S. rockers The Black Keys won three Grammys including best rock album for "El Camino."