Media buyers and planners are so high on the new show, in fact, that they say the long-floundering network has the strongest schedule this summer.
That's according to a survey of readers posted on Media Life asking them to weigh in on the summer's highs and lows on broadcast and cable TV.
The survey invited readers to name the biggest story of the summer, providing eight possible choices. The success of "The Voice" was readers' No. 1 pick, earning 39.5 percent of the vote, edging out speculation over the NFL lockout, which got 32.5 percent of the vote.
All the other choices got less than 10 percent of the vote, with the strong broadcast and cable upfront third at 9.6 percent and the potential sell-off of Hulu fourth at 6.1 percent.
Asked to name the broadcast network with the strongest summer schedule, nearly half, 43.6 percent, chose NBC. Fox was a distant second at 21.8 percent, followed by ABC, the No. 1 network this summer so far on the strength of the NBA playoffs, in third at 20.9 percent.
CBS received 8.2 percent of the vote, and Univision got 5.5 percent.
Readers' enthusiasm for NBC stems from the success of "Voice," which aired its season finale last night. The show has been the No. 1 non-sports program on television this summer and is drawing higher ratings than any summer program the past two years with the exception of last year's "Glee" season finale.
Media Life asked readers to name summer's most impressive show, and three-fifths, 60.4 percent, chose "Voice."
Fox's "So You Think You Can Dance" was a very distant second with 14.4 percent of the vote, followed by another NBC show, "America's Got Talent," at 9 percent. Fox's "MasterChef" and ABC's "The Bachelorette" tied for third at 6.3 percent, and "other" received 3.6 percent of the vote, with write-ins including ABC's "Wipeout."
While NBC has the clear edge in the mind of buyers this summer, they are still most impressed with ABC's new summer offerings. Asked to name the new show ("Voice" was not included) with the most potential, 31.2 percent of readers picked ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition."
ABC also airs readers' second pick, "Expedition Impossible," which drew 22.9 percent of the vote. Only one other show, NBC's "Love in the Wild," which bowed last night, received double-digit percentages, at 12.8 percent.
As impressed as readers are with NBC this summer, they're equally unimpressed with CBS's schedule. Asked to name the broadcast network with the weakest schedule, 43.8 percent picked CBS. ABC and NBC tied for second at 20.5 percent, and Fox was fourth at 11.6 percent.
Just 3.6 percent chose Univision, which speaks to the network's consistency this summer with original programming.
And CBS also airs the veteran show media buyers and planners would most like to cancel. Asked which long-running program should "just go away," 41.2 percent chose CBS's "Big Brother," just ahead of the 32.5 percent who picked ABC's "The Bachelorette."
"Dance" received 11.4 percent of the vote, followed by "Talent" at 9.6 percent and "other" at 5.3 percent.
As for which cable network will generate the most buzz this summer, 31.6 percent chose USA Network, which just wrapped up its 20th straight primetime quarterly victory among total viewers.
HBO took second at 17.5 percent, and TNT and ABC Family tied for third at 16.7 percent apiece.
Finally, asked whether the broadcast networks should continue to program scripted series in the summer, despite very low ratings, readers answered affirmatively, with 71.9 percent choosing this answer: "They should keep trying scripted summer shows. Viewers just need to be retrained to expect these shows in the summer."
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