‘Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show’ viewers down 29% from last year

The 2015 “Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show,” which aired Tuesday night on CBS, took a big tumble in the ratings.
The special attracted 6.6 million viewers compared with 9.3 million for last year’s broadcast. It also posted a 2.3 rating in the adults 18-49 category, vs. 3.4 last year, according to Headline Planet.
Despite the steep decline, the lingerie-themed event was No. 1 in its timeslot for adults 18-49, the demographic advertisers crave.
So, what’s behind the ratings decline?
For starters, CBS aired reruns leading into this year’s “Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.”
Second, the show lost its superstar musical headline act when Rihanna backed out one week before the show’s taping in New York City. The producers had to scramble to replace RiRi with Ellie Goulding. (Depending on the media reports, Rihanna either canceled because she needed to work on her new album or was miffed that producers cut her model friend Jourdan Dunn from the show.)

Attending the show live

The 2015 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was the lingerie brand’s 20th anniversary show. It was taped Nov. 10 at the 69th Regiment Armory in Manhattan. It was the third VSFS I was able to attend in person.
I was there for the afternoon run of the show, which is performed in front of L Brands executives, Victoria’s Secret retail employees, news media and invited guests. The evening show is the one where celebrities attend and is used for the broadcast.
The show itself lasted only 39 minutes live including short breaks between sets. The hour-long broadcast was padded with interviews with models and other behind-the-scenes footage.
Ellie Goulding performed two songs: “Army” and “Love Me Like You Do.” Unlike the other two musical acts, Selena Gomez and The Weeknd, Goulding had a teleprompter with her song lyrics. But she didn’t appear to use it. Perhaps it was there because of her short prep time for the show.
Selena Gomez performed “Hands to Myself” and “Me & My Girls.” The Weeknd performed “In the Night” and “Can’t Feel My Face.”
In the warm-up to the show, a DJ played club remixes of mashed-up songs. For instance, one track merged “What a Fool Believes” by the Doobie Brothers with “Finally” by CeCe Peniston. Another mixed “Give It to Me Baby” by Rick James with “Gimme Shelter” by the Rolling Stones.

United Nations of beautiful women

The Victoria’s Secret Angels are like a United Nations of beautiful women because they come from so many different countries worldwide.
“Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon cracked a joke about that fact on Wednesday.
“Hey last night was the annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show over on CBS, and it featured models from Brazil, Sweden, and Portugal. Or as Donald Trump put it, (TRUMP) ‘I’ve changed my mind on immigrants,’” he said.
Check out this graphic from Graphiq that visualizes the VSFS 2015 models by country.

Photos: Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2015 models Candice Swanepoel (top) and Behati Prinsloo.