Ratings: ‘The Voice’ Premiere Is the Top Entertainment Telecast of the Season, but Down 29% From 2019’s Start

“The Voice” returned on Monday to hand NBC a primetime ratings win — and to remind all of us just how much difference a year can make. While last night’s Season 19 premiere of “The Voice” was this season’s most-watched entertainment telecast thus far, it was -29% in key-demo ratings from last fall’s start. Led by “Dancing With the Stars,” ABC was No. 2 on the night. Due to the nature of live sports, the below Nielsen numbers for Fox’s primetime kickoff should be considered subject to significant adjustment. NBC was first in ratings with a 1.0 rating/6 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with an average of 6.7 million, according to preliminary numbers. “The Voice” from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. posted a 1.2/6 and 8 million viewers. “The Weakest Link” at 10 received a 0.8/5 and 4.3 million viewers.

ABC was second in ratings with a 0.8/5 and in viewers with 5.1 million.”Dancing With the Stars” from 8-10 averaged a 1.0/5 and 6.1 million viewers. At 10, “Emergency Call” had a 0.5/3 and 3 million viewers.

Fox was third in ratings with a 0.7/4 and in viewers with 2.6 million. An NFL overrun at 8 p.m. ET posted a 1.3/7 and 4.4 million viewers. Starting at 8:30 ET, “L.A.’s Finest” had a 0.5/3 and 2 million viewers. “Filthy Rich” followed with a 0.4/2 and 2.2 million viewers.

CBS was fourth in ratings with a 0.4/2 and in viewers with 2.1 million. “Big Brother” at 8 landed a 0.9/5 and 3.7 million viewers. Following some unimpressive “One Day at a Time” re-airings, “Manhunt: Deadly Games” at 10 settled for a 0.2/1 and 1.4 million viewers.

Univision was fifth in ratings with a 0.3/2 and in viewers with 1 million.

Telemundo and The CW tied for sixth in ratings, both with a 0.2/1. Telemundo was sixth in total viewers with 925,000, The CW was seventh with 839,000.

For The CW, “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” at 8 had a 0.1/1 and 882,000 viewers. Following a rerun, “Penn & Teller: Fool Us” at 9 got a 0.2/1 and 836,000 viewers.