One week after scoring with the Super Bowl, a CBS special event once again dominated the Sunday ratings.

The 49th annual Grammy Awards delivered its largest audience in three years, both in total viewers and adults 18 to 49, according to preliminary Nielsen reports.

The Grammys stole viewers from NBC and Fox, whose shows suffered season lows.

The three-hour awards broadcast garnered an 8.5 rating in the demo, ranking CBS No. 1 for the night.

ABC came in second place, but had a strong night with “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” (6.2) up 29 percent over its last original episode, followed by a slightly up “Desperate Housewives” (7.1) and an on par “Brothers & Sisters” (4.6).

Fox took third place, its animated comedy block having a rough night, with several shows posting season lows. “The Simpsons” (3.8), “Family Guy” (3.9) and “American Dad” (3.2) all had their lowest rating of the season. “King of the Hill” (3.2) performed modestly, as well.

NBC fared even worse, with a two-hour episode of “Grease: You’re the One That I Want” hitting a season low (2.0), followed by a season-low “The Apprentice: Los Angeles” (2.4). Both shows suffered double digit declines from their last original episodes. At 10 p.m., NBC had “Crossing Jordan” (2.5).

On Saturday, Fox won the night with NASCAR (3.1), while on Friday CBS took the crown with “Ghost Whisperer” (3.4) and “Numb3rs” (3.3).

(Editor: Romanelli)