Fast National ratings for Monday, March 19, 2012.
NBC’s reign as overall Monday champion appears to be over, as ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” premiere took a huge bite out of the singing competition’s audience and controlled the night. However, “The Voice” continued to hold its place as the night’s top show among young viewers, keeping NBC atop Monday there.
The “Dancing” premiere, which was down a reasonable amount from last September’s launch, also took a bite out of CBS’ Monday comedies and FOX’s Monday dramas.
Among adults 18-49, NBC averaged a 3.8 rating, beating ABC and CBS’ matching 3.1 ratings in the key demographic. FOX was fourth with a 1.8 rating, while The CW did a 0.3 key demo rating for the night.
Overall, though, ABC averaged an estimated 16.265 million viewers and a 10.4 rating/16 share for Monday night, far ahead of the 6.1/9 and 10.07 million viewers for NBC. CBS was a close third with a 6.0/9 and 9.465 million viewers. FOX was far back in fourth with a 3.4/5 and 5.43 million viewers. The CW averaged 747,000 viewers and a 0.5/1 for Monday night.
[Univision averaged 3.91 million viewers and a 1.6 rating among adults 18-49 for Monday night.]
8 p.m. – “Dancing with the Stars” started primetime in first overall for ABC With 17.88 million viewers, coming in tied for second among adults 18-49 with a 3.4 rating. NBC’s “The Voice” averaged 11.45 million viewers (down over 2.5 million viewers from last week’s already-depressed numbers) and won the hour with a 4.3 key demo rating. CBS was third overall and tied for second in the demo with “How I Met Your Mother” (8.15 million and a 3.4 key demo rating) and “2 Broke Girls” (9.19 million and a 3.4 key demo rating). On FOX, “House” averaged only 5.78 million viewers and a 2.0 key demo rating in fourth. The CW’s encore of “America’s Next Top Model” averaged 809,000 viewers and a 0.3 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – ABC stayed in first overall in the 9 p.m. hour with 19.06 million viewers and held second among adults 18-49 with a 3.6 rating. NBC’s second hour of “The Voice” improved to 12.08 million viewers and a 4.7 key demo rating. CBS was third with “Two and a Half Men” (11.335 million and a 3.8 key demo rating) and “Mike & Molly” (9.625 million and a 3.2 key demo). FOX’s “Alcatraz” averaged 5.07 million viewers and a 1.5 key demo rating in fourth. The CW’s “Hart of Dixie” repeat drew 685,000 viewers and a 0.2 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – “Castle” completed ABC’s overall primetime sweep with 11.855 million viewers, but finished second for the 10 p.m. hour among adults 18-49 with a 2.4 rating. CBS’ “Hawaii Five-0” was a distant second overall with 9.14 million viewers and won the hour with a 2.5 key demo rating. And when is losing more than half of your lead-in not a total disaster? When you’re NBC’s “Smash” and your 6.67 million viewers and 2.3 key demo rating still represent less of a drop than your lead-in experienced.
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.