THE VOICE Returns on Top For NBC

NBC (10.00 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.4, #1) kicked off its fall lineup on top with the season premiere of "The Voice" (12.04 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.1, #1) followed by a special preview of "The New Normal" (6.91 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.5, #T3) and a repeat of "Go On" (4.97 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.8, #5).

Here are the other highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

Earlier this year (2/6/12), "The Voice" opened its second season on Mondays to a more potent 17.69 million viewers and a 6.6 rating among adults 18-49 - a dip of almost 38% in the latter category.

FOX (6.32 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.5, #2) then took home the silver with the respective season finales of "Hell's Kitchen" (6.21 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.5, #T3) and "MasterChef" (6.43 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.6, #2).

Next up was CBS (4.80 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #3) with a full hour of "U.S. Open Overrun" (5.44 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.7, #6) followed by its mix of "How I Met Your Mother" (5.20 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.6, #7), "CBS Fall Preview" (4.38 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T9), "2 Broke Girls" (4.80 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.4, #8) and "Mike & Molly" (3.53 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.0, #11).

Meanwhile, ABC (4.40 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.1, #4) offered up the season finale of "Bachelor Pad" (4.52 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T9) plus a repeat of "Castle" (4.17 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 0.8, #12).

And finally, a new "The L.A. Complex" (0.68 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.3, #13) and a repeat of "America's Next Top Model" (0.55 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.2, #14) closed out the night on The CW (0.61 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.3, #5). In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Complex" delivered a 0.4 rating at 8:00/7:00c and "Top Model" a 0.4 rating at 9:00/8:00c.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
0.00% - Hell's Kitchen (vs. 9/4/12)
0.00% - The L.A. Complex
-3.70% - MasterChef (vs. 9/4/12)
-7.14% - Bachelor Pad
Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+203.70% - The Voice (vs. America's Got Talent (Repeat)/2011 Miss Universe Pageant)
+108.33% - Hell's Kitchen (vs. Hell's Kitchen (Repeat))
+56.25% - The New Normal (vs. 2011 Miss Universe Pageant)
+8.33% - MasterChef (vs. Hell's Kitchen)
-25.00% - The L.A. Complex (vs. Gaga by Gaultier/The CW 2011 Fall Preview Special)
-42.22% - Bachelor Pad (vs. Bachelor Pad: The Final Challenge/Bachelor Pad)
In late-night metered market ratings (via NBC's press release):
· In Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 2.5/6 with an encore telecast; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 1.8/5 with an encore; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.7/6; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.2/4.

· In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.7/3 with an encore; "Late Show," 0.4/2 with an encore; "Nightline," 0.7/3; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.4/2.

· At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.2/4 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (0.9/3). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.4/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.2/2).

· At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.8/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.2/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 15 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (9/12/11):

ABC (7.07 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.3, #1) was the network to beat on the final week of the summer thanks to its "Bachelor Pad: The Final Challenge" (7.37 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.2, #3) special followed by the season finale of "Bachelor Pad" (6.93 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.3, #2).

The silver then went to FOX (4.56 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.8, #2) with a repeat of "Hell's Kitchen" (3.36 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T7) followed by a new "Hell's Kitchen" (5.76 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.4, #1).

Next up was NBC (4.93 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.4, #3) with an encore of "America's Got Talent" (4.38 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T10) alongside the "2011 Miss Universe Pageant" (5.21 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.6, #4).

Meanwhile, CBS (4.18 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.2, #4) offered up its mix of "U.S. Open Tennis Overrun" (4.57 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T5), "How I Met Your Mother" (3.53 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T7), another "How I Met Your Mother" (4.30 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T5), "Two and a Half Men" (4.19 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T7), "Mike & Molly" (4.49 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T10) and "Hawaii Five-0" (3.99 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.0, #12).

And finally, The CW (1.21 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #5) closed out the evening with its special "Gaga by Gaultier" (1.44 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.6, #13), "Gaga by Gaultier/The CW 2011 Fall Preview Special" (1.22 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.5, #14) and "The CW 2011 Fall Preview Special" (0.71 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.3, #15).

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Bachelor Pad (27.8%), Hell's Kitchen (-7.7%).

In late-night metered market ratings (via NBC's press release):
In Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 2.6/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.4/6 with an encore delayed by a sports overrun; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.5/6; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.2/4.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.8/3; "Late Show," 0.5/2 with a delayed encore; "Nightline," 0.8/3; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.4/2.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.2/4 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.0/4 with an encore delayed by a sports overrun). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.3/2 with a delayed encore).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.7/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.2/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research