Fox scored a narrow ratings victory Monday thanks to a fiery Daytona 500 race, while "The Voice" was the top-rated show and "Two and a Half Men" and two other CBS comedies hit series lows, according to preliminary numbers.
The rain-delayed race resulted in another indignity to CBS's Monday-night slate, which dominated in the fall but has lost ground to NBC's "The Voice" since its debut earlier this month.
Fox was first in the ratings and total viewership Monday, averaging a 4.5 rating/11 share in the adults 18-49 demographic and 14.2 million total viewers. It aired the race, which stunned viewers with Juan Pablo Montoya's fiery crash, from 8 to 10 p.m.
NBC, in second place in ratings and total viewership with an average 4.4/11 in the demo and 12.1 million, ran "The Voice" from 8 to 10 p.m. It had a 5.4/13 in the demo -- a 10 percent dip from last week -- and 14.8 million total viewers. "Smash" at 10 saw a slight increase in the demo for a 2.4/6 and 6.9 million total viewers.
CBS was third in ratings and total viewership. It averaged a 3.1/8 in the demo and 10 million total viewers, with dips across the board for its Monday night lineup and series lows for "Men," How I Met You Mother," and "2 Broke Girls."
"How I Met Your Mother" at 8 had a 3.6/10 in the demo and 9.1 million total viewers, while "2 Broke Girls" at 8:30 had a 3.7/9 and 10.1 million. "Two and a Half Men" at 9 was down 14 percent in the demo with a 3.6/9, and had 11.8 million total viewers. "Mike & Molly" at 9:30 dropped 15 percent to a season low of 2.9/7 in the demo and had 10 million total viewers. "Hawaii 5-0" at 10 dropped 14 percent, hitting a season low of 2.5/6 in the demo. It had 9.4 million total viewers.
Despite modest increases, ABC came in fourth for the night in ratings and total viewership with an average 2.4/6 in the demo and 8.3 million total viewers. "The Bachelor" at 8 enjoyed a slight uptick from last week, taking a 2.6/6 in the demo and 8 million total viewers. "Castle" was also up slightly, receiving a 2.2/5 in the demo and 9 million total viewers.
