• by Wayne Friedman , January 5, 2021

The Grammys -- one of the biggest single event shows TV of the year in term of viewers and advertising revenue -- is being rescheduled due to COVID-19-related issues in Los Angeles and California in general.

The event was originally scheduled to air on CBS on January 31, 2021. It will now air March 14, 2021.

CBS producers and The Recording Academy cite the current situation: Hospital services in the state are becoming overwhelmed and ICU beds are reaching capacity.

A year ago, CBS' "The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards" on January 26, 2020 pulled in a Nielsen-measured 18.7 million viewers -- down 6% from 2019 (19.9 million) with a 5.6 rating among the 18-49 demographic.

The 2020 Grammy telecast generated an estimated $81.8 million in national advertising revenue, according to Kantar Media.

Major advertisers a year ago included Lincoln Motor Co. with six airings, at an estimated $5.6 million, according to iSpot.tv; Facebook with two airings, at $3.7 million; Google, with two airings, at $3.7 million; Verizon, with four airings, at $3.7 million; and McDonald's, with six airings, at $2.8 million.

The next five advertisers were Kisqali, with one airing, at $2.8 million; Dovato, with one airing, at $2.8 million; Progressive Insurance, with three airings, at $2.5 million; and Warner Bros., with three airings, at $2.2 million; and Pepsi Zero Sugar, with four airings, at $1.6 million.