Premiere of ABC's DWTS is Monday's Most-Watched TV Show in Key Demo

With the 19th season premiere of "DWTS" and an encore "Castle," ABC was Monday's most-watched TV network (11.4 million) with its biggest audience on the night since May - since 5/19/14. In addition, ABC was the No. 1 broadcaster of the night in Adults 18-49 (2.0/6-tied w/Fox).

"Dancing with the Stars" (8:00-10:00 p.m. - 13.5 million and 2.4/7 in AD18-49):
Building from its first hour to its second hour on night 1 of a special 2-night premiere, ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" ranked as Monday's most-watched TV show overall (13.5 million) and the No. 1 entertainment program in Adults 18-49 (2.4/7), drawing the biggest audience for any TV series (non-sports) telecast since May - since 5/20/14. Dominating its unscripted competition in its 2-hour time period among Adults 18-49, "Dancing" (2.4/7) beat out Fox's season finale of "Masterchef" by 20% (2.0/6) and NBC's "American Ninja Warrior" by 41% (1.7/5), leading each half-hour.

Based on TV Playback for last season in Adults 18-49, "DWTS" is projected to grow to a 2.7-2.8 rating in the Live + 3 Day averages and a 2.8-2.9 rating in the Live +7 Day averages.

"DWTS" was the No. 1 most social entertainment program on Monday night with 201,946 tweets.

Please Note: "DWTS" was preempted in Indianapolis (0.95% of the U.S.) for local NFL coverage.

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, 9/15/14. Nielsen Socialguide 9/15/14, Total Tweets +/- 3hrs during telecast.

Don't Miss a TV News Story Sign up for all the news on the Fall season, discounts & more...