MUMBAI: For the first time since 1984, Grammy Awards has acquired more spectators than its age old competitor Oscar Awards.

According to the Nielsen’s final ratings, the broadcast of Grammy Awards 2012 drew 39.9 million viewers for CBS network, whereas the 84th annual Academy Awards gained 39.34 million total viewers for ABC.

The rare Grammy-over-Oscar victory is claimed to be catapulted due to the death of legendary artiste Whitney Houston which took place a night before the biggest musical award ceremony. It’s the second largest audience of all time for Grammys, in 1984 around 43.8 million audiences witnessed Michael Jackson sweeping eight Grammy for Thriller, further recording history in itself.

ABC networks coverage of two-hour, 54-minute Oscar ceremony hosted by Billy Crystal from the Hollywood & Highland Center was increased by 3.7 percent when compare to its last year’s rating which was averaged to 37.92 million. This year’s Oscar night also represented the oldest TV audience ever for the Academy Awards and the record high median age viewership of 52.8. The most-watched Academy Awards occurred in 1998, when the telecast averaged 55.25 million viewers and ‘Titanic’ won best picture.