Some 25.8 million music fans watched the CBS' coverage of Sunday's Grammy Awards ceremony, making this year's event the most-watched one since 2004, the Nielsen Co. said Monday.

The projected viewership was up 35 percent over last year's 19.05 million, statistics released by the Nielsen Co. showed.

The 2004 ceremony averaged 26.29 million viewers. Analysts believe that as a result of easier access to the Internet, cable television and DVD discs, as well as the increase of televised music awards events, the shrink of Grammy's viewership is inevitable.

The Grammy record remains 51.67 million viewers for the 1984 ceremony when Michael Jackson, at the height of his popularity, won a record eight Grammys. That telecast came when there were just three major broadcast networks and less competition for viewers from cable television.

The smallest viewership occurred in 1995 when only 17.28 million fans watched the telecast.

Final national figures are scheduled to be released Tuesday, but are not expected to change substantially from the preliminary figures.