NBC hopes ‘The Voice’ can score a big ratings touchdown after the Super Bowl

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NBC is handing off its plum post-Super Bowl slot to ‘The Voice.’

The network announced Tuesday that it will schedule a special one-hour episode of its hit singing contest immediately after the big game on Feb. 5.

That’s important for a couple of reasons. The Super Bowl is far and away the most-watched program of the year — an average of more than 100 million viewers tuned in this year — so any show that runs after it automatically reaps a huge audience as a windfall.

Second, the choice of lead-out speaks volumes about where executives believe their network is headed. The post-Super Bowl slot is typically saved for highly touted new shows or current series with heavy growth potential. Last year, Fox put ‘Glee’ in the slot. The year before that, CBS successfully launched ‘Undercover Boss’ in the period.

NBC executives this month announced that they would not bring back ‘The Voice’ in the fall but instead save it for midseason, where they hope it can help revive their schedule.

‘There is no better showcase on television than to follow the Super Bowl, and we believe ‘The Voice’ is deserving of such high-profile exposure,’ NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt said in a statement. ‘The attention-grabbing blind audition phase of ‘The Voice’ has mass appeal and will fittingly team up with the biggest sporting event of the year.’

Do you think it’s a good match? Will you watch ‘The Voice’ after the Super Bowl?

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— Scott Collins (twitter.com/scottcollinsLAT)

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