The Voice got back in the studio for its season premiere Monday — and posted ratings more in line with its usual performance than with last season’s remotely produced final episodes.
The NBC talent competition drew the biggest same-day audience for any entertainment program on the broadcast networks so far this fall, averaging 8.2 million viewers over its two hours. Though it was down about 8 percent vs. its fall 2019 premiere (8.93 million), it was the most watched entertainment program of the fall so far.
The drop among adults 18-49 was sharper, as The Voice fell half a point from last fall’s debut to a 1.2 rating, a 29 percent dip. That’s compared to a 15 percent slide for the prior year’s premiere. Following the premiere, Weakest Link posted a 0.8 in the demo and 4.26 million viewers.
Fox had the day’s most-watched program with a late afternoon NFL game (delayed from Oct. 15), which drew 12.16 million viewers for its 5 p.m. ET kickoff. The lead-in helped L.A.’s Finest (2.21 million viewers, 0.6 in 18-49) and Filthy Rich (1.71 million, 0.4) improve a bit on last week’s showing.
ABC’s Dancing With the Stars was even with last week in the 18-49 demo at 0.9 but slipped some in total viewers to 5.75 million. Big Brother also drew a 0.9 in the demo for CBS, along with 3.75 million viewers.
ESPN’s regular Monday Night Football telecast was the runaway cable leader, and topped primetime overall, with 11.32 million viewers and a 3.6 rating in the 18-49 demo. Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight (5.25 million) finished second on cable in total viewers.
Bookmark THR.com/Ratings for more ratings news and numbers.
