Chloe Kohanski’s got the voice, but NBC’s “The Voice” probably didn’t get the TV ratings it wanted with Tuesday’s finale.
This season-ending episode slipped 20 percent in ratings from last year — though the decline is at least in part due to the late date. Last night’s “Voice” finale ran one week closer to Christmas than December 2016’s, which almost guaranteed lower tune-in.
And to (continue to) be fair to the NBC singing competition, Tuesday’s live show was up versus the series’ May 23, 2017 season finale — but that’s also just the Fall TV season versus the Spring. Either way, NBC still crushed its primetime competition last night.
NBC was first in ratings with a 1.8 rating/7 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with an average of 9.8 million, according to preliminary numbers. Following a recap show, “The Voice” from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. earned a 2.0/8 and 10.8 million viewers.
ABC was second in ratings with a 0.9/4 and third in viewers with 3.8 million. An Olaf “Frozen” special at 8 had a 1.0/4 and 4.3 million viewers. At 8:30, “Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice” landed a 0.9/4 and 3.4 million viewers. “The Year: 2017” filled out the next two hours of primetime with a 0.8/4 and 3.8 million viewers, on average.
CBS and Fox tied for third in ratings, both with a 0.5/2. CBS was second in total viewers 4.7 million; Fox was fourth with 2 million, airing all repeats.
For CBS, a “Home for the Holidays” special starring Josh Groban at 8 got a 0.6/2 and 5.1 million viewers. Reruns followed.
Univision and Telemundo tied for fifth in ratings, both with a 0.4/2. Univision was fifth in total viewers with 1.3 million, Telemundo was sixth with 1.1 million.
Airing only a movie, The CW was seventh in ratings with a 0.2/1 and in viewers with 1 million.
17 TV Winners and Losers of 2017, From 'This Is Us' to the Silence Breakers (Photos)
Boy, 2017 was something -- wasn't it? While plenty has been happening in the "real world" over the past 12 months, the show continues to go on for TV. Well, not every show. When it comes to television, the winners and losers are pretty easy to define, though 2017 was such a screwy year sometimes they intertwined. Here is the breakdown for who conquered the airwaves and what crumbled in ratings.
Winner: NBC -- Once-again, NBC is the year's broadcast TV ratings winner. This win makes it four years in a row atop the key 18-49 demographic, and the fifth No. 1 finish of six years. And before you argue that's all due to "Sunday Night Football" and The Olympics, 2017 marks the third year in a row NBC has finished first -- or tied for No. 1 -- in entertainment-only programming. So, there.
Loser: ESPN -- Wins have been tough to come by at the Worldwide Leader in Sports these days. From ESPN's Bristol, Connecticut vantage point, cord-cutters are killing the once-mighty business: ESPN has laid off hundreds of employees in just the past six months to mitigate some of the damage. (Mis)Management there also fumbled a partnership with Barstool Sports, which was still somehow better than they handled Jemele Hill's Twitter activity.
Winner: Cable News -- By never shutting up about "fake news," Donald Trump has contributed to very real TV ratings growth at CNN, MSNBC and Fox News. Though the POTUS loves himself some "Fox & Friends," perennial Twitter trend "Morning Joe" has arguably made the most of the new platform given to its platform.
Loser: Megyn Kelly -- NBC News made quite a coup when it lured Megyn Kelly over from enemy Fox News Channel. Here's the problem: Kelly hasn't earned her reported $15 million-plus yearly salary for the new employer. "Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly" mostly didn't work, and her "Today" show takeover has basically been a bust every time she's without a sexual misconduct accuser.
Loser(s): Sexual Harrassers (and the Shows/Networks/etc. That Employ Them) -- Here are just some TV stars and executives accused of sexual misconduct in 2017: Kevin Spacey, Jeffrey Tambor, Bill O'Reilly, Matt Lauer, Mario Batali, Roy Price, Charlie Rose, Mark Halperin, Louis CK, Jeremy Piven, Chris Savino, Ken Baker, Matthew Weiner, Mark Schwahn, Nick Carter, Geoffrey Rush, Geraldo Rivera-- OK, we're running out of room. It was a lot of guys.
Winner(s): The Silence Breakers -- OK yeah, so we stole that term from Time. Good enough for their cover, good enough for our gallery. The point is, some of this year's biggest winners are those who came forward to speak out against this year's biggest losers. Props to Reese Witherspoon, America Ferrera, Hilarie Burton (pictured), Anna Faris and Terry Crews -- to name just a few -- for sharing their own personal stories about being victims of Hollywood's sexual misconduct problem.
Winner: HBO -- You're more than a little liar if you say HBO didn't own premium cable this year. Boasting an impressive lineup of new and returning series ("Big Little Lies," "Game of Thrones") and a landslide victory at the Primetime Emmy Awards (10 wins, thank you very much), it's clear the network was living its best life in 2017. Of course, HBO could be on track to crush the next couple of years as well, with the return of "Westworld" and the final season of "Game of Thrones."
Winner: Stephen Colbert-- Turns out the guy from "The Colbert Report" really should love Donald Trump. Just as soon as the 45th POTUS was inaugurated in January, Colbert took late-night's total-viewer crown right off of Jimmy Fallon's head. He hasn't looked back since, and is now coming for the "Tonight Show" host's stranglehold on the key 18-49 demographic.
Loser: NFL -- TV Ratings for NFL games are down year over year again. Considering 2016's terrible declines, this year's high single-digit drop-off is really bad news for the National Football League. And then there's that whole kneeling for the national anthem thing -- that sure got the country heated, didn't it? Yeesh.
Winner: "This Is Us" -- The story of the Pearsons' heartbreaking loss continues to be NBC's gain. The success of the sophomore season of "This Is Us" has forced a spike in tissue sales (possibly?) and viewership. The series is one of just six that are up in Nielsen ratings in 2017, compared to their prior season. Cool Emmy, Sterling K. Brown.
Loser: "Still Star-Crossed" -- A win just wasn't in the cards for this short-lived ABC series, which was 2017's lowest-rated new show for the calendar year. Across its seven-episode first (and last) season, the medieval Shondaland drama, averaged 1.36 million viewers and a 0.3 rating in the key demo. Also, more than half the episodes aired on Saturdays during the summer. So, yeah.
Winner: "The Good Doctor" -- ABC ruled the opposite end of the ratings spectrum too, dropping its new series "The Good Doctor" this fall. The medical drama starring Freddie Highmore (who just grabbed a 2018 Golden Globes nomination for his performance as Dr. Shaun Murphy). The show's freshman season has done so well it's grabbed the No. 1 slot in ratings for a new program in the 2017 calendar year.
Loser: "Marvel's Inhumans" -- "What even is this?" was what some viewers (definitely not any here) wondered when ABC's new Marvel Cinematic Universe series came to town this fall. Between the bizarre IMAX rollout, weird wig CGI, and bad ratings, "Inhumans" was a mess. The strangest thing about the show? It's yet to be officially cancelled.
Winner/Loser: "The Walking Dead" -- "The Walking Dead" just won't die. While the AMC series has seen a double digit decline in ratings in 2017, it is still the No. 1 show on cable. There's definitely something there that's keeping it alive, even if its main characters continue to get whacked with a tricked-out bat.
Winner: USA -- The network, not the country, obviously. USA is expected to finish 2017 as the No. 1 cable entertainment network in total viewers for a record 12th straight year and is in the mix in the 18-49 demo. But that race is too close to call right now. WWE's "SmackDown" going live last summer, not to mention the success of the Jessica Biel-led "The Sinner," have made USA the place to be in 2017. Again, the network, not the country.
Winner: "Big Bang Theory" Universe -- While this CBS staple has been ruling the small screen for years now, it really went to the head of the class in 2017. With the successful launch of prequel series "Young Sheldon" (which is TV's No. 1 new comedy -- "Will & Grace" is higher, but that's technically a returning comedy) and "Big Bang Theory" hanging tough in the No. 1 slot for comedy overall, the brainiacs over at the Tiffany Network have plenty to brag about.
Loser: Fox -- If we couldn't make a case for Fox having a bad year before Dec. 14, then we definitely can now. While the network has three shows with the worst audience declines from last year ("Empire," "The Exorcist," and "Lethal Weapon") and ranks fourth in entertainment-only programming for 2017, the biggest problem for Fox comes courtesy of Disney. The Mouse House just struck a deal to buy 21st Century Fox for $52.4 billion, meaning the network literally is about to lose its studio. And then there was "A Christmas Story Live."
We can't even venture a guess as to who will reign supreme and fall from grace come the end of 2018. TV is a fickle thing, and if 2017 taught us one thing it's that anything is possible.
Almost no one thinks it was a great year — but here’s how things stacked up on the small screen
Boy, 2017 was something -- wasn't it? While plenty has been happening in the "real world" over the past 12 months, the show continues to go on for TV. Well, not every show. When it comes to television, the winners and losers are pretty easy to define, though 2017 was such a screwy year sometimes they intertwined. Here is the breakdown for who conquered the airwaves and what crumbled in ratings.
TheWrap
NBC
