![2016 American Music Awards Earn Show Its Lowest Ratings Ever](http://townsquare.media/site/252/files/2016/11/gigi-hadid-jay-pharoah.jpg?w=980&q=75)
2016 American Music Awards Earn Show Its Lowest Ratings Ever
Despite a headline-worthy political protest from Green Day and a surprisingly transparent, moving speech from Selena Gomez, last night's (November 20) 2016 American Music Awards saw a significant drop in ratings from its 2015 broadcast.
The show averaged a 2.4 rating in the coveted 18--49 demographic, with only 8.16 million viewers tuning in to watch, according to Headline Planet. That's a steep drop from 2015's awards show, which drew 11 million viewers with a 3.5 demo rating, indicating a hefty 31% decrease in ratings for 2016's AMAs.
The 2.4 demo rating is an all-time low for the annual awards show, whose previous low was held by 2012’s AMAs with a 3.4 rating. But, according to TVLine, ABC also reports the AMAs earned the network its highest Sunday numbers — barring the 2016 Emmy Awards broadcast — since the Billboard Music Awards aired back in May.
The AMAs poor ratings follow similar news from earlier this year. The 68th Primetime Emmy Awards also suffered their lowest ratings yet, while the 2016 Academy Awards saw a similarly abysmal six percent drop in ratings, earning the show its second-lowest ratings in its 88-year history.
See Photos from the 2016 American Music Awards
More From 97.3 The Dawg
![24 Years Ago: Garth Brooks Named Artist of the Decade at the American Music Awards](http://townsquare.media/site/623/files/2015/01/Garth-Brooks2.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![2021 American Music Awards Nominees Announced](http://townsquare.media/site/204/files/2021/10/attachment-chris-stapleton-gabby-barrett.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![2020 American Music Awards Nominees Announced](http://townsquare.media/site/204/files/2020/10/Dan-Shay.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![2019 American Music Awards: Country Stars Step Out on the Red Carpet [PICTURES]](http://townsquare.media/site/623/files/2019/11/amas-red-carpet.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![2019 American Music Awards: See the Country Winners](http://townsquare.media/site/204/files/2019/11/american-music-awards-winners-2019.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![2019 American Music Awards: Luke Combs, Carrie Underwood + More Earn Nominations](http://townsquare.media/site/623/files/2019/09/2019-cmt-artists-of-the-year.png?w=980&q=75)
![Kane Brown’s Three 2018 American Music Awards Wins Set a Record](http://townsquare.media/site/623/files/2018/10/kane-brown-2018-amas-7.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![American Music Awards Sunday](http://townsquare.media/site/33/files/2015/11/luke-bryan-and-jason-aldean.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![This Day In Country Music History: Garth Brooks at AMA’s [Video]](http://townsquare.media/site/33/files/2015/01/hqdefault21.jpg?w=980&q=75)