THE VOICE HITS A HIGH NOTE IN SEASON DEBUT

NBC’s The Voice came in loud and clear Monday night, launching the season with 14.7 million viewers and a solid 4.6 rating and 12 share in the key 18-49 age group. That figure was up 17 percent from last year’s season debut of the singing contest. It also provided a strong lead-in for the new series The Blacklist, which held on to 12.6 million viewers and received a 3.8/10 in the key demo. ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, which in previous years had challenged The Voice in total viewers, dropped to 13.4 million in its second week of the season. It ranked third among the 18-49 set with an average 2.3/6 rating/share. CBS placed second among the key demo as How I Met Your Mother returned with 9.2 million viewers and a 3.6/10 in the demo, while 2 Broke Girls‘ season premiere attracted 8.8 million viewers and a 2.8/7. CBS’s series debut of Mom drew a so-so 7.9 million viewers followed by the premiere of Hostages with an unimpressive 7.48 million.