2022 CMA Awards Secure Largest Audience In 3 Years, Adding 2.2M Viewers In L+7 Multiplatform Ratings

Katie Campione
·2 min read

EXCLUSIVE: The 56th annual CMA Awards has drummed up its largest audience in three years in the week since the honors were handed out in Nashville.

The 2022 award show has grown to 9.7M total viewers across linear and digital platforms, which is up 2.2M from its live+same day audience, according to ABC. The CMA awards built its audience by 16% compared to last year’s 8.4M total viewers in L+7.

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This year’s show dipped slightly in the 18-49 demographic in live+same day data, with a 1.05 compared to 2021’s 1.12. But it made up for that in delayed viewing, managing a 73% lift to a 1.78 — which is 9% higher than last year’s L+7 rating of 1.63.

In fact, the 2022 CMA Awards mark the highest viewership and ratings for the show since 2019. Like many awards shows, the CMAs are slowly climbing out of their pandemic slump, not quite making it to pre-pandemic numbers just yet. In 2019, the broadcast averaged more than 11M total viewers and a 2.0 demo rating in live+same day.

RELATED: CMA Awards 2022 Winners List

But even before the pandemic, awards shows had been struggling to hold onto their audience. In 2017, 14.3M people tuned in for the live broadcast of the CMA awards and the telecast got a 3.2 rating in the demo.

The 56th annual CMA Awards were hosted at the Bridgestone Arena on November 9, honoring musical legends, showcasing emerging artists and highlighting collaborations all while celebrating excellence within country music. Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning hosted.

For a second consecutive year, Luke Combs took home Entertainer of the Year. Lainey Wilson took home New Artist of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year, joining Alison Krauss and Underwood as the only other artist to win both Female Vocalist and New Artist in a single year. Chris Stapleton became the fifth most-winning artist in CMA Awards history with his Male Vocalist of the Year win, and he is now the most-winning artist in the Male Vocalist category.

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