TV Ratings: ‘The Voice’ rises as NBC splits Tuesday with CBS

Fast National ratings for Tuesday, May 3, 2011.

One week can easily be a fluke, but after ratings for “The Voice” rose for Week 2, it can safely be said that NBC has a hit on its hands. The singing talent show added viewers, particularly young viewers, for its second airing and helped NBC split the first Tuesday of May Sweeps with CBS.

Among adults 18-49, NBC averaged a whopping 4.6 rating for the night, easily beating CBS’ 2.9 rating in the key demographic. FOX’s 2.6 rating and the 2.2 rating for ABC followed, with The CW’s 0.5 rating trailing.

Overall, though, CBS won the night commandingly with an average of 14.54 million viewers and a 9.2 rating/14 share. ABC’s 7.8/12 and 11.755 million viewers finished second, beating the 6.4/10 and 10.7 million viewers for NBC. FOX was a distant fourth with a 3.8/6 and 6.28 million viewers, while The CW’s 0.8/1 and 1.1 million viewers trailed.

8 p.m. – CBS started the night in first overall with a relatively lackluster 17.32 million viewers for “NCIS,” which finished second with a 3.5 rating among adults 18-49. ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” recap show was second overall with 9.27 million viewers and fourth in the key demo. FOX’s “Glee” averaged 8.61 million viewers and won the key demo with a 3.6 rating, rising slightly from last week’s low-rated entry. NBC finished fourth overall and third in the key demo with 7.35 million viewers and a 2.6 demo rating for “Biggest Loser.” The CW’s “One Tree Hill” averaged only 1.24 million viewers and a 0.6 demo rating in fifth.

9 p.m. – ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” won the 9 p.m. hour with the 15.6 million viewers, but tied for a distant second with a 2.9 demo rating. CBS’ “NCIS: Los Angeles” was second overall with 14.05 million viewers and also did a 2.9 demo rating. NBC’s “The Voice” was third overall with nearly 12.08 million viewers and dominated the hour with a 5.4 rating in the key demo. There was a big drop to FOX in fourth with “Raising Hope” (4.92 million and a 1.9 demo rating) and “Traffic Light” (2.98 million viewers and a 1.2 demo rating). The CW’s “Hellcats” continues to push itself to the wrong side of the Bubble with 969,000 viewers and a 0.4 demo rating in fifth.

10 p.m. – “The Voice” won the competitive 10 p.m. hour with 12.68 million viewers and a 5.8 demo rating. CBS’ heavily hyped “Good Wife” scored a strong performance with 12.26 million viewers and a 2.4 demo rating for second. Although down, ABC’s “Body of Proof” still averaged 10.39 million viewers and a 2.0 demo rating in third.