The debut of the fourth edition of Dancing with the Stars helped ABC waltz its way into the No. 1 ratings spot on Monday night and also delivered the reality competition series best-ever season premiere results.
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Despite facing stiff competition from a two-hour episode of Deal or No Deal on NBC, new episodes of both Prison Break and 24 on Fox and original episodes of all of CBS' Monday night sitcom programming, Deal or No Deal was the only one that came close to Dancing with the Stars in the ratings. The ABC reality ballroom dancing competition's premiere out-performed its nearest competitor by 7.6 million total viewers (21.7 million versus 14.1 million) as well as by 50% among Adults 18-49 (6.3/16 rating/share versus 4/10 rating/share).
In addition, Dancing with the Stars also built steadily throughout its broadcast, growing by 3.6 million total viewers (19.6 million to 23.2 million) and by 25% among Adults 18-49 (5.5/16 rating/share to 6.9/16 rating/share) from its first half-hour to its final half-hour.
Compared to last fall's September 12 premiere of Dancing with the Stars' third season, the fourth season's debut was up by 1.5 million total viewers (21.7 million versus 20.2 million) and 11% among Adults 18-49 (6.3/16 rating/share versus 5.7/15 rating/share). The fourth season's premiere also topped last year's January 5 second season debut by 4.2 million total viewers (21.7 million versus 17.5 million) and 31% in the Adults 18-49 demographic (6.3/16 rating/share versus 4.8/12 rating/share).
Dancing with the Stars' fourth season premiere also landed ABC's largest audience in the time period with regularly scheduled entertainment programming in more than 15 years, dating back to January 1992. It also gave ABC its best ratings numbers among Adults 18-49 with regularly scheduled entertainment programming in that time slot in more than eight years, dating back to February 1999.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio
