"Dancing with the Stars" Premiere Is Up/"Castle" Earns Most-Watched Telecast this Season

With the Season 16 premiere of DWTS and Castle, ABC won Monday over original lineups on the other nets, beating runner-up CBS by 6.9 million viewers and by 17% in Adults 18-49. The Net won the night for the 4th time in 5 weeks.

ABC's Dancing opener grew over its Season 15 premiere by 19% in Total Viewers and by 24% in Adults 18-49. The DWTS premiere stands as TV's 2nd-most-watched unscripted telecast this season, topping every installment of Idol since the Wednesday premiere in January.

Beating its CBS (Hawaii Five-0) and NBC (Deception) drama competition, ABC's Castle won the 10 o'clock hour in viewers and young adults for its 3rd straight original telecast. Castle stood as Monday's most-watched scripted program with its biggest audience this season.

...more to come

Quick Take for Monday, March 18, 2013 (Fast Affiliate Live+ Same Day Ratings)

ABC Dominates Monday, Leading for the 4th Time in 5 Weeks

The 16th Season Opener of "Dancing" is Up Sharply Over its Season 15 Premiere

ABC's "Dancing" is Monday's Top Show and Delivers the Net's Biggest Audience in the Time Period in Nearly 1 Year

ABC's "Castle" Wins at 10pm for its 3rd Straight Original Telecast, Drawing Its Biggest Audience This Season and Standing as Monday's Top Scripted Series

Monday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.)

With the Season 16 premiere of "DWTS" and "Castle," ABC won Monday over original lineups on the other nets, topping each half-hour and beating runner-up CBS by 6.9 million viewers (14.9 million vs. 8.0 million) and 17% in Adults 18-49 (2.8/7 vs. 2.4/6). ABC won the night for the 4th time in 5 weeks.

· Hitting a season high with viewers, ABC marked its most-watched Monday since May 7, 2012.

"Dancing with the Stars" (8:00-10:00 p.m.)

Up sharply over its Season 15 premiere in Total Viewers (+19%) and in Adults 18-49 (+24%), ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" season premiere dominated its 2-hour time period, beating CBS' comedy block, NBC's "The Biggest Loser" finale and Fox's dramas ("Bones"/"The Following"). "DWTS" was Monday's No. 1 TV series in viewers (16.8 million) and young adults (3.1/8). In fact, it stands as TV's 2nd-most-watched unscripted telecast this season, topping every installment of "Idol" since its Wednesday premiere telecast in January (on 1/16/13).

· "Dancing" was Monday's most-social entertainment program, as its number of tweets spiked 66% over its Fall 2012 premiere (161,000 vs. 97,000).

"Castle" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

Beating its CBS ("Hawaii Five-0") and NBC ("Deception" finale) drama competition, ABC's "Castle" won the 10 o'clock hour for its 3rd straight original telecast in viewers (11.2 million) and young adults (2.2/6), standing Monday's most-watched scripted TV show. In fact, "Castle" more than tripled the overall audience of the "Deception" season finale (+220% - 11.2 million vs. 3.5 million).

· "Castle" delivered its biggest audience this season.

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 47% currently, from 43% at the same point in 2012. 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), 3/18/13. SocialGuide for 3/18/13 vs. 9/24/12.