Golden anniversary Grammys draw lackluster ratings

By Steve Gorman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The 50th annual Grammy Awards, featuring Amy Winehouse taking a break from rehab to perform, was the most watched U.S. television show of the night on Sunday, but attracted far fewer viewers than last year.

The 3 1/2-hour CBS live broadcast of the recording industry's highest honors averaged 17.5 million American viewers, down 2.5 million from the Grammys' 2007 television audience, Nielsen Media Research reported on Monday.

The tally was about 500,000 above the 2006 Grammy ratings low, a telecast that got clobbered by an overlapping episode of the smash hit talent show "American Idol."

That year's Grammy audience of 17 million viewers -- compared to 28 million for "American Idol" -- was the smallest for the music awards in 11 years.

The Grammys' biggest competition this year came from a two-hour episode of the ABC reality show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," which averaged about 15.8 million viewers.

The awards extravaganza likely suffered from a viewership slump that hit TV as a whole this season, in part due to a glut of reruns, game shows and reality shows caused by the Hollywood writers strike. But award shows also have seen a general ratings decline in recent years.

For its golden anniversary show, Grammy producers showcased a dazzling collection of performances, blending veteran acts like Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis with newer stars like Beyonce, the Foo Fighters and Alicia Keys.

The show also benefited from a curiosity factor surrounding the appearance of Winehouse, whose drug abuse and erratic behavior shocked fans last year. She took a break from treatment to perform on the show via satellite from London.

The troubled British soul singer was the night's biggest winner, walking away with a total of five Grammys.