CBS's post-Super Bowl airing of "Elementary" scored a 12 rating/24 share in metered markets Sunday, faring nowhere near as well as NBC's "The Voice" did in the spot after the Super Bowl last year.
But "Elementary" was at a significant disadvantage: It aired later than any other post-Super Bowl show, thanks to a power outage in New Orleans' Superdome that delated the game by 34 minutes in the third quarter.
Sunday's "Elementary" is comfortably on track to scoring the freshman drama's highest viewership and ratings. The "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson," meanwhile, scored a preliminary 3.2/11, much higher than average.
Last year, "The Voice" scored a 19.4 rating/33 share after the Super Bowl in metered markets, which include 56 cities.
The lower ratings for "Elementary" came despite the highest metered-market ratings ever for a Super Bowl. Sunday's game had a metered-market rating/share of 48.1/71.
More complete numbers were expected later Monday.
Networks traditionally use the time after the Super Bowl to promote shows for which they have high hopes. Last year, after NBC used the post-Super Bowl slot to launch the second season of "The Voice," it went on to challenge "American Idol" to be the top-rated non-sports show of the 2011-12 season.
In a testament to football's vast popularity, NBC's "Sunday Night Football" was the top-rated show overall in 2011-12, as it is so far this season.
