TV Ratings: 'The Voice' posts lowest premiere, but dominates Monday for NBC, FOX is a strong second with 'Hell's Kitchen,' 'MasterChef' finales
It's impossible to know what to compare Monday's "The Voice" premiere to. The first season launched relatively under-the-radar in late spring. The second season launched with a not-so-minor assist from the Super Bowl.
Monday night's third season premiere of "The Voice," the show's first fall launch, was below both of its first two premieres, but, since NBC cares more about immediate returns than longevity, emphasis should be placed on the series dominating both of its hours and leading the network to Monday wins in all measures.
"The Voice" helped "The New Normal" deliver a so-so premiere, and also prevented the finales for FOX's "Hell's Kitchen" and "MasterChef" from rising.
Among adults 18-49, NBC averaged a 3.4 rating for the night, topping the 2.5 rating for FOX in the key demographic. CBS' 1.4 rating, ABC's 1.1 rating and the 0.23 key demo rating for The CW weren't really in the hunt.
Overall, NBC averaged just over 10 million viewers and a 6.4 rating/10 share for Monday night, well ahead of FOX's 3.8/6 and 6.32 million viewers. CBS was third with a 3.2/5 and 4.8 million viewers, compared to the 3.3/5 and 4.4 million viewers for ABC. The CW drew 614,000 viewers and a 0.5/1.
[Univision averaged 3.61 million viewers and a 1.4 rating for Monday night.]
8 p.m. - The first hour of NBC's "The Voice" premiere averaged 11.04 million viewers and a 3.6 rating among adults 18-49. FOX's "Hell's Kitchen" finale averaged 6.21 million viewers and a 2.5 rating, still within range of its season averages, but without any end-of-season bump. CBS got US Open overrun and averaged 5.44 million viewers and a 1.7 key demo rating, beating the 4.21 million and 1.3 key demo rating for the first hour of the "Bachelor Pad" finale on ABC. The CW's "The L.A. Complex" averaged 679,000 viewers and a 0.3 key demo rating.
9 p.m. - "The Voice" went up to 13.03 million viewers and a 4.6 rating among adults 18-49 for NBC in its second hour, again dominating the competition. FOX's "MasterChef" finale averaged 6.43 million viewers and a 2.6 key rating in second. CBS' tennis coverage and a "How I Met Your Mother' repeat averaged 4.79 million viewers and a 1.4 key demo rating, again beating the 4.61 million viewers and 1.3 key demo rating for ABC's "Bachelor Pad" finale. On The CW, an encore of "America's Next Top Model" averaged 548,000 viewers and a 0.2 key demo rating.
10 p.m. - NBC stayed in first in the 10 p.m. hour with the "New Normal" premiere (6.91 million viewers and a 2.5 key demo rating) and yet another encore of the "Go On" premiere (4.97 million viewers and a 1.8 key demo rating). ABC's "Castle" repeat and a jumble of repeats and a fall preview on CBS both averaged 4.165 million viewers, with CBS doing a 1.2 key demo rating and ABC doing a 0.8 key demo rating.
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change, particularly in the case of live events.
