'La Voz Kids' Debuts to Strong Ratings, Beats Fox in NYC and Miami

Paulina Rubio

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The May 5 premiere of "La Voz Kids," the first Spanish-language version of the successful "The Voice" franchise to air in the United States, delivered the highest ratings ever for a reality show on the Telemundo network.

The two-hour show premiere Sunday night averaged 1.7 million total viewers, a 74% spike vs. season to date in the time period, according to Nielsen.

The show has Paulina Rubio, Prince Royce and Roberto Tapia as its coaches,  making it the first music talent show on Spanish-language television in the U.S. with major music stars as judges or, in this case, coaches. The positive ratings may indicate that past music reality competitions which didn’t fare as well in ratings may have lacked the star power appeal that "La Voz Kids" has.

The "La Voz Kids" premiere also ranked No. 1 in Miami, regardless of language and No. 3 in New York, outperforming Univision, Fox and CW.

"La Voz Kids" follows the format of "The Voice," but featuring kids between 7 and 14 years old competing for a recording contract and a cash prize. The show is hosted by Daisy Fuentes and Telemundo on-air personality Jorge Bernal.