NBC's "The Voice" powered the network to a Monday night win for the second straight week over a slate of CBS sitcoms that routinely dominated the night in the fall, according to preliminary numbers.
"The Voice" slipped from last week, as did its followup, "Smash." But every CBS show hit a season low. It was another big win for fourth-place NBC on a night when most-watched network CBS once looked bulletproof.
"The Voice," airing from 8-10 p.m., had a 5.9/15 rating in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic, down 12 percent from last week. At 10, "Smash" had a 2.8/7, down 26 percent from its premiere last week. Despite the significant slip, "Smash" won its timeslot -- beating CBS's "Hawaii 5-0." In its first two weeks it has earned NBC's two highest in-season ratings since April 2009, not including the Olympics.
"The Voice" beat CBS's slate of comedies by a 64 percent margin. It is currently the highest-rated show of the season on any network -- ahead of typical No. 1 "American Idol" -- but that is because of a huge boost from its season two premiere episode, which aired in the plum spot after the Super Bowl.
Overall, NBC averaged a 4.9/12 in the demo and 13.4 million total viewers. CBS, second in ratings and viewers, averaged a 3.3/8 and 10.3 million.
CBS' "How I Met Your Mother" at 8 slipped 15 percent from last week to a 3.4/10 in the demo, with 9.1 million total viewers. "2 Broke Girls" at 8:30 slid 14 percent from last week for a 3.7/10 and 10.5 million total viewers. "Two and a Half Men" at 9 ticked down 12 percent for a 3.8/9 and 12.3 million total viewers. "Mike & Molly" at 9:30 drew a 3.3/8 and 11 million total viewers, while "Hawaii 5-0" closed the night at 10 with a 2.6/7 and 9.5 million total viewers.
ABC was third in ratings and viewers with a 2.3/6 in the demo and 8.3 million. "The Bachelor" at 8 drew a 2.5/6 and 8 million total viewers, followed by "Castle" at 10, which received a 2.0/5 in the demo and 8.9 million total viewers.
Fox came in fourth for the night with an average 2.1/5 in the demo and 6.7 million total viewers. "House" at 8 received a 2.4/6 in the demo and 7.2 million total viewers, while "Alcatraz" at 9 dropped 17 percent for a 1.9/4 in the demo and 6.2 million total viewers.
