Chris Haston/NBCUPDATE: In the final ratings, Monday's The Voice came up to precisely 10 million viewers.
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The Voice is the hit that's taking a hit.
Viewership has plummeted 40 percent in the last six weeks, with the show falling under 10 million viewers last night.
What's up? Or, rather, why is the show down? Some possible explanations:
1. Dancing With the Stars: The ABC ballroom show is no demographic match for the younger-skewing Voice, but since it launched its new season on March 19, viewership defections from the NBC series have accelerated. (E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)
2. The Super Bowl Was a Long Time Ago: The Voice was never going to as big as it was after premiering after February's Super Bowl XLVI; it was always destined to return to the lower end of top 10. (In the 18-49 demo, it's "slipped" to the lower end of the Top 5).
3. Darn You, Daylight Savings Time! The networks love to invoke this excuse, except is it an excuse when it's true? The Voice lost 2 million viewers from March 5 to March 12, the day after our clocks sprang ahead. Plenty of other shows have had trouble competing with the longer days, too.
4. It's Winded: Last night, The Voice aired its 12th episode, en route to its scheduled May 8 finale. Last season, it aired 12 episodes—total.
5. Two Words: American. Idol. Just when you think A.I. is out, it pulls viewers back in. Guess which singing-competition series was TV's No. 1 demo show last week?
Elsewhere, here's a look at some of the other TV ratings winners—and losers, per the just-released broadcast and cable rankings:
• Glee (6.8 million viewers): It wasn't its biggest episode by a long shot, but its spring return put the spring back in New Girl (5.2 million viewers).
• Celebrity Apprentice (6.7 million viewers): The end of the line for American Chopper's Paul Teutul Sr. was good for Donald Trump's bottom line.
• NYC 22 (8.9 million viewers): Did you know this premiering CBS cop show was a top 25 hit (in total viewers)? If you're under the age of old, then, no, probably not.
• Not James Cameron's Titanic (4.1 million viewers on Saturday and Sunday): ABC gets points, but very little in the way of Nielsen satisfaction, for trying to revive the broadcast miniseries.
• Girls (872,000 viewers): The buzz show was not exactly a hit show in its Sunday premiere on HBO.
• Tim Tebow: A miracle man, truly. Before the quarterback stopped by Good Morning America last week, Today was on a 16-year ratings winning streak. Now, GMA is set to topple its rival when the final morning-news numbers are released, the Associated Press has reported.
Here's a complete look at the top 10 most-watched broadcast shows, per the latest Nielsen rankings:
- NCIS, 17.7 million viewers
- American Idol (Wednesday), 16.8 million viewers
- Dancing With the Stars (Monday), 16.4 million viewers
- American Idol (Thursday), 15.8 million viewers
- Dancing With the Stars (Tuesday), 13.4 million viewers
- NCIS: Los Angeles, 12.9 million viewers
- Criminal Minds, 11.8 million viewers
- 60 Minutes, 11 million viewers
- The Voice, 10.5 million viewers
- Two and a Half Men, 10.4 million viewers