Most expected NBC’s The Voice ratings to go down once the show moved from its popular audition phase into the battle rounds. Instead the numbers went up — and boosted Smash too.
Aided by CBS running repeats last night, NBC’s Monday lineup of The Voice (16.7 million viewers, 6.1 adults 18-49 rating) and Smash (7.9 million, 2.7) posted gains over last week. Voice was up 13 percent and Smash climbed 17 percent. NBC is wisely ramping up Voice‘s star power for its battle rounds this year, adding Kelly Clarkson, Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, Jewel, Miranda Lambert, Robin Thicke, Alanis Morissette, Lionel Richie and Ne-Yo as guest coaches. This is the best Voice adult demo rating since its premiere week.
The climb was particularly helpful for 10 p.m.’s Smash, which fell drastically from its Super Bowl week premiere last month, then seemed to perk up slightly, and then last night showed some real spark. Smash was probably aided by repeats on other networks more than Voice, though, since both Castle and Hawaii Five-0 were encores in the hour. Still, nobody forces anybody to watch a TV show, and this was a great night for the Peacock.
Also last night: The “Women Tell All” edition of The Bachelor (8.1 million, 2.5) was on par. Fox’s two-hour edition of Alcatraz (5.7 million, 1.8) was steady with last week’s modestly rated hour. (And for those that haven’t heard, Alcatraz‘s chances of renewal likely went up since Terra Nova was just cancelled.)
Read more:
‘Smash’ recap: Steppin’ To The Bad Side
‘The Bachelor’ recap: Liar’s Remorse
‘Alcatraz’ recap: Silver, Gold, and Peeping Tommy Madsen
Photo Gallery: ‘The Voice’: Our Top Ten
