Primetime Ratings: 'Smash' Flops, Drops 39% in Return

CBS wins the night; 'Bachelor' special up from Monday

By Tim Baysinger -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/6/2013 11:30:19 AM

NBC's much-ballyhooed musical drama Smash struggled in its return on Tuesday, posting just a 1.1 rating with adults 18-49 from 9-11 p.m., according to Nielsen overnight numbers. The second season premiere, which also averaged just 4.5 million total viewers, was down 39% from Smash's season one finale (1.8) and fell way short of its premiere last winter (3.8), which had The Voice as its lead-in and was heavily promoted during the Super Bowl.

Smash had a significantly weaker lead-in this time around, following the special, Betty White's Second Annual 90th Birthday, which drew just a 1.5. NBC finished in fourth place for the night with an overall 1.2 rating/3 share.

CBS won the night with an overall 2.8/7. NCIS was down a tenth to a 3.7 and its Los Angeles spinoff was even with another 3.1. Vegas declined 16% to a 1.6.

ABC's two-hour Bachelor special improved two tenths from Monday's regular episode to a 2.6 from 9-11 p.m. Earlier, new cooking show The Taste was also up two tenths for a 1.8. ABC took second with a 2.3/6.

Fox was in third with a 1.9/5. Raising Hope scored a 1.6 at 8 p.m. and a 1.5 at 8:30 p.m., down a tenth from each time slot last week. New Girl was down a tenth to a 2.5 and The Mindy Project rose 12% to a 1.9.

The CW rounded out the evening with a 0.5/1. Hart of Dixie was up two tenths in the net's targeted adults 18-34 demo to a 0.7, while also rising a tenth with 18-49s to a 0.6. Emily Owens, M.D. ended its brief run with a 0.5 with 18-34s and a 0.4 with 18-49s.