'American Idol' Crushes Grammys in Ratings
Thursday February 9 5:23 PM ET
Some humbling news for professional musicians like Madonna and U2: By a wide margin, TV viewers prefer the amateurs.
Nearly twice as many people 28.3 million watched "American Idol" than watched the Grammy Awards 15.1 million when the two music programs went head-to-head in prime time Wednesday, according to Nielsen Media Research.
In large part due to the "American Idol" competition, it was the least-watched Grammy Awards in Nielsen records dating back to the 1970s.