• by Wayne Friedman , February 11, 2013

CBS' "Grammy Awards" took an expected hit this year -- down 29% in viewership a year ago.

The big music ceremony awards show had 28.4 million viewers, down from a big 39.9 million a year ago when the show paid big tribute to Whitney Houston, who died just one day before the show.

Key 18-49 viewers also dropped to a 10.1 rating/25 share from a 14.1 rating -- also down a big 28%.

But this year's show was still at a high level in recent years -- besting 2011's results which had 26.5 million viewers and 10.0 rating among 18-49 viewers. This year's show was the second best viewed "Grammy's" since 1993.