It may have been the golden anniversary of the CMA Awards Show on Nov. 2, but the number of viewers tuning in (12.5 million) was the lowest total since 2010 (11.7 million). Not even an all-star lineup of performances from George Strait, Alan Jackson, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Beyoncé, the Dixie Chicks and more could compete with Game 7 of the World Series between the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians that tallied more than 40 million viewers.
The good news: ABC’s telecast of the CMA Awards was the highest rated non-sports program of the night, crushing the competition in Survivor (6.9 million) and Code Black (4.5 million). So they got that going for them, which is nice.
Have a look at the CMA Awards Show ratings over the last seven years, courtesy of Nielsen.
| Year | Number of Homes | Number of Viewers |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | not available yet | 12,495,000 |
| 2015 | 9,492,000 | 13,620,000 |
| 2014 | 11,394,000 | 16,249,000 |
| 2013 | 11,977,000 | 16,762,000 |
| 2012 | 9,716,000 | 13,682,000 |
| 2011 | 11,364,000 | 16,390,000 |
| 2010 | 7,820,000 | 11,719,000 |
