ABC's DANCING WITH THE STARS Outdraws 'The Voice' for 1st Time This Season

ABC was the most-watched network on Monday night in Total Viewers, leading runner-up NBC by 6% (11.6 million vs. 10.9 million).

"Dancing with the Stars" (8:00-10:00 p.m. - 12.7 million and 2.0/6 in AD18-49):
From 8:00-10:00 p.m., ABC's "Dancing" drew a bigger audience than NBC's "The Voice" for the first time this season, leading by 1.1 million viewers (12.7 million vs. 11.6 million). "DWTS" was up from its week-ago Fast Affiliate numbers in Total Viewers (+2% - 12.7 million vs. 12.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (+5% - 2.0/6 vs. 1.9/5), which adjusted up in the Nationals (to 12.7 million and 2.0/6). Building from its first to second hour (+11%), "Dancing" outdelivered Fox's "Sleepy Hollow" in Adults 18-49 from 9:00-10:00 p.m. for the 5th week running (+17% - 2.1/6 vs. 1.8/5). "DWTS" continued its run as the most social broadcast series on Monday (71,488 tweets).

"Castle" (10:00-11:00 p.m. - 9.3 million and 1.6/5 in AD18-49):
In the 10:00 p.m. hour, ABC's "Castle" (9.3 million) drew more viewers than CBS' "NCIS: LA" (8.6 million) for the 3rd time in 4 weeks and nearly tied NBC's "The Blacklist" (coming within 100,000 viewers - 9.4 million).

A note about increasing DVR penetration and year-to-year rating comparisons: Year-to-year rating comparisons based on the Live + Same Day data stream are distorted by the level of DVR penetration in the Nielsen sample, which has jumped up to 49% currently, from 48% at the same point in 2013. More viewers are watching shows on their own timetables, which may not be reflected in the overnight next day numbers. The only truly valid year-to-year comparison would be one based on the Live + 7 Day metric, once those stats are released by Nielsen.

Source: The Nielsen Company, Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings, 10/20/14. Nielsen Socialguide 10/20/14, Total Tweets +/- 3hrs during telecast.

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