Fast National ratings for Monday, March 21, 2011.
When the most recent “Dancing with the Stars” cast was announced, some pundits mocked the alleged stars and questioned if the talent should would be able to continue its Bristol Palin-driven momentum. The answer? Yes.
“Dancing with the Stars” launched its 12th season on Monday with even bigger numbers than tuned in for the show’s 11th premiere back in September, leading ABC to a dominant performance and even boosting “Castle” back ahead of “Hawaii Five-0.”
The ABC juggernaut also crushed everything in its path, leading to low nights for everything from to “Chuck” to “How I Met Your Mother.”
Among adults 18-49, ABC averaged a 4.5 rating, easily beating the 2.8 rating for CBS in the key demographic. FOX averaged a 2.6 rating for third, far ahead of NBC’s 1.4 rating and the 0.2 rating for The CW.
Overall, ABC averaged an estimated 19.08 million viewers and a 12.0 rating/19 share. CBS was a distant second with a 5.5/9 and 8.81 million viewers. FOX’s 7.81 million viewers and 4.7/7 was far ahead of the 3.5/6 and 5.53 million viewers for NBC. The CW’s repeats averaged only 654,000 viewers in fifth.
8 p.m. – The first hour of “Dancing with the Stars” averaged 20.86 million viewers and a 4.7 rating among adults 18-49. FOX’s “House” was well back in second with 9.31 million viewers and a 3.4 demo rating. CBS’ “How I Met Your Mother” (7.95 million and a 2.9 demo) and “Mad Love” (6.55 million and a 2.3 demo) finished third, beating NBC’s “Chuck,” which averaged 4.32 million viewers and a 1.5 demo rating. And no, “Chuck” fans, those numbers are not good. The CW’s repeat of “90210” averaged 778,000 viewers in fifth.
9 p.m. – “Dancing with the Stars” improved to 23.68 million viewers and a 5.6 demo rating in its second hour. CBS finished second with the 9.38 million viewers and 2.8 demo rating for a “Two and a Half Men” repeat and a new “Mike & Molly.” FOX was third with 6.31 million viewers and a 1.9 demo rating for “The Chicago Code,” which actually only lost overall viewers to the “Dancing” onslaught, holding onto last week’s demo. NBC’s DOA “The Event” averaged 4.05 million viewers and a 1.2 demo rating in fourth. The CW’s “Gossip Girl” repeat averaged 529,000 in fifth.
10 p.m. – ABC’s “Castle” got a big “Dancing” bump and averaged 12.7 million viewers and a 3.3 demo rating to win the 10 p.m. hour. CBS’ new “Hawaii Five-0” averaged 9.79 million and a 2.9 demo rating in second. NBC’s “Harry’s Law” lost a pile of viewers and averaged 8.21 million viewers and a 1.6 demo in third.
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.