<p>LOS ANGELES — The Academy of County Music honors drew a record-low audience, joining other awards shows also finding dwindling viewer interest.</p>
<p>Ceremony ratings generally have slid in recent years and the trend has continued during the pandemic, with the recent <a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-television-coronavirus-pandemic-grammy-awards-e2dcb1700145bafcbb33407b65a3ecea">Grammys and Golden Globes among those nosediving</a>.</p>
<p>Next up to be tested: the Academy Awards, airing Sunday on ABC (8 p.m. EDT).</p>
<p>The ACM Awards drew just under 6.3 million viewers last Sunday, compared to the 6.6 million that watched in 2020, according to Nielsen figures released Tuesday. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/acm-awards-2021-winners-892287624e99665df7a3316712731176">Luke Bryan was crowned entertainer of the year</a> during the event hosted by Keith Urban and Mickey Guyton.</p>
<p>An episode of <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-capitol-riots-oath-keepers-militia-2021-04-18/">“60 Minutes,” with a segment on the far-right Oath Keepers militia group</a>, was the week’s most-watched TV program. Members of the group are being investigated in connection with the U.S. Capitol insurrection, with one having pled guilty to federal charges.</p>
<p>The news magazine and the ACM Awards — which ranked among last week’s top five programs despite the ceremony’s slump — were both on CBS and helped lead the network to a weekly ratings victory.</p>
<p>CBS averaged 4.45 million viewers, followed by ABC with 3.6 million. NBC had 3.1 million, Fox had 2 million, Univision had 1.4 million, Telemundo had 1.07 million, ION had 1.05 million and the CW had 710,000.</p>
<p>Fox News Channel led the cable networks, averaging 2.23 million viewers in prime time. MSNBC had 1.48 million, HGTV had 1.36 million, CNN had 1.05 million and TBS had 947,000.</p>
<p>ABC’s “World News Tonight” topped the evening news ratings contest, averaging 8.3 million viewers last week. NBC’s “Nightly News” had 6.9 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 5.2 million.</p>
<p>For the week of April 12-18, the 20 most-watched programs, their networks and viewerships:</p>
<p>1. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 8.48 million.</p>
<p>2. “Young Sheldon,” CBS, 7.46 million.</p>
<p>3. “Blue Bloods,” CBS, 6.83 million.</p>
<p>4. ACM Awards, CBS, 6.28 million.</p>
<p>5. “The Voice,” NBC, 5.83 million.</p>
<p>6. “Magnum P.I.,” CBS, 5.58 million.</p>
<p>7. “NCIS,” CBS, 5.56 million.</p>
<p>8. "United States of Al," CBS, 5.45 million.</p>
<p>9. "American Idol" (Sunday), ABC, 5.44 million.</p>
<p>10. “American Idol" (Monday), ABC, 5.39 million.</p>
<p>11. “Mom,” CBS, 5.35 million.</p>
<p>12. “The Masked Singer,” Fox, 5.17 million.</p>
<p>13. “Bull,” CBS, 5.12 million.</p>
<p>14. “Station 19,” ABC, 5.1 million.</p>
<p>15. “Grey’s Anatomy,” ABC, 4.98 million.</p>
<p>16. “The Neighborhood,” CBS, 4.95 million.</p>
<p>17. “This Is Us,” NBC, 4.81 million.</p>
<p>18. “Bob Hearts Abishola,” CBS, 4.74 million.</p>
<p>19. “Law & Order: SVU,” NBC, 4.73 million.</p>
<p>20. “Law & Order: Organized Crime,” NBC, 4.41 million.</p>
