NBC WINS THE FEBRUARY 2012 SWEEP IN 18-49

PACED BY THE SUPER BOWL AND 'THE VOICE,' NBC RANKS #1 OR TIED FOR #1 FOR THE MONTH IN ALL KEY DEMOS

'THE VOICE' IS THE SWEEP'S #1 SERIES IN 18-49 AND MOST OTHER KEY CATEGORIES

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - March 1, 2012 - Paced by the combination of NBC Sports' February 5 coverage of the Super Bowl and primetime's #1 series for the month, "The Voice," NBC has won the February 2012 Nielsen Sweep in the key demographic of adults 18-49 and ranks #1 or tied for #1 in all other key demographics.

The hit Monday singing competition "The Voice" finished as the #1 series for the February sweep in adults, men and women 18-34; adults, men (tie) and women 18-49; adults and women 25-54; kids 2-11 and teens 12-17, led by results for its February 5 season premiere following the Super Bowl. In adults 18-49, "The Voice" averaged a 7.5 rating for the month and in total viewers, "The Voice" delivered 19.4 million persons.

With all 28 nights of the February 2-29 period now measured, "most current" averages in adults 18-49 for the month are: NBC (a 3.7 rating), CBS (3.0), Fox (3.0), ABC (2.5) and CW (0.7). In total viewers, "most current" sweep averages are CBS (12.2 million), NBC (10.4 million), Fox (8.5 million), ABC (7.8 million) and CW (1.6 million).

With this year's boosts from the Super Bowl and "The Voice," NBC is up versus the year-ago February sweep by 131 percent in 18-49 rating (to a 3.7 from a 1.6) and up 86 percent in total viewers (10.4 million vs. 5.6 million). According to "most current" results for the sweep, NBC is #1 or tied for #1 in all key demographics - adults, men and women 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54.

The combination of "The Voice" and the critically acclaimed new drama "Smash" (3.1 rating in 18-49, 8.9 viewers overall) helped NBC triple its Monday 18-49 average rating from the year-ago February 2011 sweep (with a 5.2 vs. a 1.7).

February sweep figures are "most current" averages of "live plus seven day" data except for the two most recent weeks, which are "live plus same day."