Fast National ratings for Monday, February 6, 2012.
“The Voice” followed its massive post-Super Bowl premiere with a big return to Monday night, throwing its hat in the ring to contend for a place as TV’s top show among young viewers. The returns for the exhaustively hyped “Smash” were less encouraging for NBC, as the musical drama did tremendous numbers by recent NBC standards, but still squandered much of its lead-in and then slipped at the half-hour.
NBC’s Monday success had no impact on ABC’s “The Bachelor” and only moderate impact on CBS’ comedies, but took a big bite out of FOX’s “House” and “Alcatraz.”
On to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, NBC averaged a 5.7 rating, easily beating CBS’ 3.5 rating in the key demographic. ABC averaged a 2.4 rating to nip the 2.3 rating for FOX, while The CW posted a 0.6 key demo rating for the night.
Overall, NBC averaged an estimated 15.62 million viewers and a 9.4 rating/14 share for Monday primetime. CBS was a distant second with a 6.9/10 and 10.82 million viewers. ABC’s 8.4 million viewers and 5.7/8 followed in third, with FOX’s 4.3/6 and 6.97 million viewers taking fourth. The CW averaged an estimated 1.39 million viewers and a 1.0/1 for the night.
[Univision averaged 3.84 million viewers and a 1.6 rating among adults 18-49 for Monday.]
8 p.m. – “The Voice” started primetime strong for NBC with 16.08 million viewers and a 5.7 rating among adults 18-49. That was comfortably ahead of CBS’ “How I Met Your Mother” (9.99 million viewers and a 4.0 key demo) and “2 Broke Girls” (11.42 million viewers and a 4.3 key demo). ABC’s “The Bachelor” averaged 8.06 million viewers and a 2.5 key demo rating for third, actually rising in viewers over last week. Despite a heavily promoted, format-bending episode, FOX’s “House” slipped to 7.155 million viewers and a 2.4 key demo rating. On The CW, “Gossip Girl” averaged 1.28 million viewers and a 0.6 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – In its second hour, “The Voice” soared to 19.295 million viewers and a 7.5 rating among adults 18-49 for NBC (peaking with 19.395 million and a 7.7 key demo in its second half-hour, which’ll be important for “Smash” comparisons in a second). CBS was second with “2 Broke Girls” (12.9 million and a 4.2 key demo) and “Mike & Molly” (11.015 million and a 3.4 key demo). ABC’s “The Bachelor” rose to 8.43 million viewers and a 2.7 key demo rating in its second hour. FOX’s “Alcatraz” slipped to 6.78 million viewers and a “Terra Nova”-esque 2.2 key demo rating, shedding over 1.5 million viewers and a 0.5 key demo from last week. On The CW, “Hart of Dixie” averaged 1.5 million viewers and a 0.6 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – The premiere of “Smash” easily won 10 p.m. for NBC with nearly 11.5 million viewers and a 3.8 rating among adults 18-49 for the full hour, but the second half-hour was already down to 10.27 million viewers and a 3.4 key demo rating, which can’t be exactly what NBC was hoping for. Obviously no story can be written about “Smash” as a success or failure without looking at ratings in the weeks to come. CBS’ “Hawaii Five-0” averaged nearly 9.8 million viewers and a 2.7 key demo rating for second. ABC’s “Castle” averaged 8.72 million viewers and a 2.0 key demo rating in third.
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.