For the first time ever, this year’s Grammy awards ceremony will be aired live in the Pacific and Mountain time zones.
That means stations that choose to participate in the live broadcast will air the 58th annual award show from 5 to 8:30 p.m. PST and 6p.m.-9:30 p.m. MST). Last year’s Grammy awards received 24.8 million viewers.
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Already, most other major awards shows are broadcast live coast-to-coast, including the Oscars, the Emmys and the Golden Globes. In part, this avoids spoilers online from social media or news outlets for viewers in the western half of the United States.
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“We’ve discussed this with CBS for years, but a variety of factors came together this year, and we collectively agreed that we had the perfect opportunity to try a new model and see how viewers respond,” said the Recording Academy and GRAMMY Foundation president Neil Portnow. “I’m very pleased to share that, for the first time, west coast TV viewers will be able to watch the GRAMMY Awards live.”
LL Cool J hosts this year’s Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Feb. 15, now airing live across the country via participating CBS affiliates and owned stations at 8 p.m. EST.
