• by Wayne Friedman , March 6, 2012

NBC must be feeling better -- both its prized midseason shows, "The Voice" and "Smash," showed improvement on Monday.

A two-hour version of "Voice" was up 13% to a even stronger Nielsen preliminary 5.8 rating/16 share among 18-49 viewers. This was followed by "Smash," which gained nearly 20% to a 2.7 rating/7 share.

But the qualifier is that CBS' comedies and its late-night drama were in repeats for the night. CBS has been -- for the most part -- the highest-rated 18-49 network on Monday night for a long time.

Only ABC and Fox offered up much of a fight with fresh programming: ABC with a two-hour "The Bachelor," and Fox with two hours worth of "Alcatraz." ABC 's "Bachelor" was down a bit to a 2.5/6, while Fox's "Alcatraz" was the same as a week ago with a 1.9/5.

For the entire Monday night, NBC more than doubled its nearest competitor, ABC, with a 4.9/13. ABC came in second with a 2.1/6. Fox was a bit behind, tying CBS with a 1.8/5. Univision earned a 1.3/3. CW, also in repeats on the night, came in at a 0.4/1.