NBC falls to fifth place behind Univision

Credit: NBC

As if things couldn't get any worse for NBC, news has come in that the once top-rated network is projected to finish fifth in the key adults 18-49 demographic. This is the first time in the history of sweeps that NBC has finished this low, and is a particularly crushing blow when you consider that NBC was riding high in November as the sweeps winner.

From the beginning of the February sweeps period on January 31 through February 19, NBC has only averaged a 1.2 rating among adults 18-49, well below the 1.5 average of Spanish-language network Univision, which has bested NBC ever night of the sweeps period - which will likely be good enough to secure its first-ever fourth place finish. Granted, this isn't the first time Univision has won out over a major network, as they actually bested CBS, of all networks, in July of 2010 and 2012. But this is the first time Univision has bested a major network during an in-season sweeps period.

Worse still, NBC ranks below the 1.7 18-49 rating that rival network ABC has been averaging, as well as the 2.0 rating that FOX has earned. It's also far, far below the 4.9 rating for network-leader CBS, though much of that number can easily be attributed to the Super Bowl on February 3 and the Grammys on February 10, which boosted the network's average for a stronger-than-usual sweeps rating.

NBC has been taking a beaten this midseason, between the disastrous premiere of Do No Harm, which was the lowest ratings ever for an in-season scripted series, landing a 0.9 rating and resulting in a near-immediate cancellation. Freshman comedy 1600 Penn is on life support with a 1.1 rating, while the season 2 return of Smash was rejected by audiences outright, scoring a 1.1 for the premiere, and a series low 0.9 for this week's episode.

The Voice doesn't return until March 25, along with freshman drama Revolution not long after. It was these two series that helped prop up the network in the fall along with football. With these three key factors gone, NBC is practically a shambling corpse of a network that is banking its life on Usher and Shakira pulling in an even higher number for this season of The Voice, since the network is in such decline that even the solid ratings of last season's airing of The Voice might no longer cut it. To add insult to injury, NBC actually won last year’s February sweeps period, with an average rating of 3.7. Of course, that was when the network was propelled by the Super Bowl and a strong start for The Voice. NBC can only hope to stop the hemorrhaging until its flagship singing competition can come to the rescue.

Full story: Deadline