Primetime Ratings: 'The Voice' Returns Slightly Below Finale

Moderate open for NBC's frosh comedy 'The New Normal'

By Andrea Morabito and Tim Baysinger -- Broadcasting & Cable, 9/11/2012 11:19:38 AM

The third season premiere of NBC's The Voice returned to a 4.1 rating with adults 18-49 on Monday night, according to Nielsen, down 5% from where it ended its sophomore season in May.

The two-hour telecast, the show's first berth in fall, of course didn't come close to matching the 6.6 rating it turned in for its first Monday telecast following the Super Bowl last February.

Ryan Murphy's freshman comedy The New Normal turned in a moderate 2.5 rating in the 18-49 demo following The Voice. The series moves to its regular Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. timeslot Tuesday night.

The premieres led NBC to win the night with an overall 3.4 rating/9 share.

Fox's cooking show finales landed the network in second with a 2.5/7. Both Hell's Kitchen and MasterChef were even with last year's finales at a 2.5 and 2.6, respectively.

Andy Murray's victory in the 2012 U.S. Open Tennis Men's Final bled into CBS' repeat-filled lineup, giving the network a third-place 1.4/4.

ABC came in fourth with a 1.1/3. The third-season finale of Bachelor Pad sunk to its lowest-rated finale of 1.3, down 35% from last year.

The CW aired a new L.A. Complex for a 0.3, same as last week, and finished with a 0.3/1.