Mackie's little world

There were over 1.25 million viewers on the Live Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony at 5:49 am KST (Korea Standard Time) at the exact moment the category for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (for which BTS were nominated) was being announced.

Then, the presenter awarded the trophy to a different artist. And this is what happened to the viewership count. 👇

(Note: Clock on screenshots above are at Philippine time. Korea is an hour ahead.)

⬇️30,334 or 2.4% right after (5:50 am)

⬇️524,601 or 41.9% after 5 mins (5:55 am)

⬇️641,867 or 51.3% after 6 mins (5:56 am)

⬇️671,260 or 53.7% after 7 mins (5:57 am)

⬇️678,509 or 54.3% after 8 mins (5:58 am)

⬇️692,173 or 55.4% after 9 mins (5:59 am)

⬇️721,162 or 57.7% after 10 mins (6:00 am)

⬇️751,787 or 60.1% aftee 12 mins (6:02 am)

For the show to lose 41.9% of its viewers in just 5 minutes, and then losing more than half of its viewers in 6, and further losing 751K in 12 -- that right there is very telling.

Viewership and ratings for this year's Grammy's is heavily dependent on BTS and the ARMYs that support them. Viewership and ratings for any awards show, for that matter, where BTS are either nominees or performers rely heavily on BTS and ARMYs... NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND.

If the producers of the Grammy's paid any attention at all to the Live Awards Premiere Ceremony earlier, they now must be scrambling to fix their set list for the main show later today. Because putting BTS' performance right in the very middle of the show (as reflected in the earlier announced official set list) is not, I repeat, NOT gonna help in the ratings. Unless they change the set list and put BTS' performance at the tail end of the show, which would both be shady and unprecedented.

For an awards show that's been struggling in the past years to maintain its relevance, they sure missed out on one very, very significant opportunity. And that opportunity is BTS and ARMY.

Alex Trebek, who hosted “Jeopardy!” for a record-setting 36 years and who brought an authoritative and unflappable persona to the quiz show’s peculiar conceit, in which answers are delivered in the form of a question, died on Sunday. He was 80.

The death was confirmed by the show’s producers on Twitter.

Mr. Trebek had announced in a video on March 6, 2019, that he had been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer that week.  He said that like many others with the disease, he had no symptoms until it had spread throughout his body. He delivered the news from the show’s set, wearing, as usual, a bandbox fresh suit and tie as he spoke straight to the camera without sentiment or histrionics.

As a host, Mr. Trebek was the essence of durability. In the decades that he  captained “Jeopardy!” more than 400 other game shows  came and went. “Jeopardy!” endured, with millions of Americans organizing their weeknights around the highbrow program, shouting out the questions to their televisions as Mr. Trebek read the answers with his impeccable diction.

One of the chief appeals of the show, apart from its intellectual challenge, was its consistency. Over the years, its format stayed almost the same, as did Mr. Trebek, though he trimmed back his bushy head of hair, grew grayer and occasionally sported a mustache, beard or goatee.

Otherwise he was a steady and predictable host — a no-nonsense presence, efficient in his role.

A full obituary will be published shortly.

“I am apolitical.”

• • • • • stream dynamite • • • • •