America is apparently not “Ready for Love.”
Based on the overnight metered market ratings, the premiere of NBC’s new dating series greatly squandered its “The Voice” lead-in. While the red-hot music competition posted an 4.2 adults 18-49 rating and 12.95 million viewers Tuesday, “Love” only managed a 1.6 with 3.85 million.
Particularly scary is how significantly the show’s declined throughout its two-hour premiere. After opening to a viewership average of 5.37 million from 9-9:30PM, it dropped all the way to 3.72 million in the next half hour. By 10:30-11, the audience was a mere 3.05 million.
In struggling so notably to retain its lead-in, especially as a premiere airing that should have had an additional curiosity spike, “Ready for Love” indirectly made another case for “Revolution.”
Critics of “Revolution” note that its respectable ratings are only achievable due to the Monday night “Voice” lead-in, but while that might true, it is clear that simply airing after “The Voice” does not assure success.
Efforts to build “Go On” (recently, the lead-in worked in the fall) and “Ready for Love” out of “The Voice” have not been nearly as fruitful.