Ratings Rat Race: ‘Dancing’ Rocks, ‘Skating’ Disappoints While ‘Mike & Molly’ Hits Highs
UPDATE 2PM: The final Nielsen ratings for last night are in, and the Bristol Palin-fueled Dancing with the Stars (23.7 million, 4.9/13 in adults 18-49) posted the strongest results for a Dancing performance finale in six seasons, since the fifth cycle’s Monday finale in November 2007. (Dancing airs two cycles every broadcast season.) Versus last year, the show was up by 3.3 million viewers and by 23% in 18-49. The strong ratings for Dancing followed a wave of publicity surrounding Palin’s ability to escape elimination despite so-so marks from the judges and make it all the way to the finals. She was also at the center of several threat s, including one that involved a letter laced with white powder that was received at Dancing‘s production offices over the weekend. Meanwhile, the premiere of the Dancing spinoff Skating with the Stars wound up with a final tally of 2.4/6 and 9.4 million viewers, holding onto less than 50% of its Dancing lead-in. Other adjustments in the finals: CBS’ Hawaii Five-0 gained a tenth to a 3.3/9, while Fox’s Lie to Me dropped a tenth to a 1.7/5.
PREVIOUS: 10 AM: The performance finale of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars had a big effect on Monday night’s standings. Probably boosted by the controversy surrounding finalist Bristol Palin, it topped the night, sending Fox’s House and NBC’s 
Chuck to season lows. But, by trimming its air time to 73 minutes from the usual 2-hour, it also gave CBS a big opening. Without Dancing to compete against, the network’s new comedy series Mike & Molly (4.0/10, 13 million) at 9:30 PM was up 8% in the demo from last week and hit all-time highs in both total viewers and adults 18-49. At 10 PM, Hawaii Five-0 (3.2/9, 12.2 million), which faced weaker competition from ABC with Skating with the Stars and no Dancing overrun, was up 14% to post its best demo number in almost 2 months. 
The 3 CBS comedies that faced Dancing were unaffected: How I Met Your Mother (3.5/10) was flat with its fast-national number last week (the 8 PM comedy regularly adds .1 in the finals as it did last week). Rules of Engagement (2.9/8) and Two and a Half Men (4.5/12, 14.3 million) were also even with their demo performances last week. As a result, CBS (3.5/10) edged ABC (3.4/9) in the demo, a major shift on the night. (ABC still won in total viewers, 15.1 million vs. 11.4 million.) CBS was helped by the underwhelming premiere of ABC’s Dancing spinoff, Skating with the Stars. Because of Dancing‘s irregular running time, exact numbers for the two shows are not available yet but the contrast between their performances is obvious. From 8-9 PM, Dancing (4.7/13) was up 25% from what the dancing competition averaged in the hour last week. Its rating will go up in the finals when the final 13 minutes are factored in. Meanwhile, from 9:30 PM to 11 PM, Skating averaged a 2.2 in 18-49, dropping precipitously throughout (2.7>2.1>1.7). Its rating will also go up a little in the finals when the first 17 minutes that immediately followed Dancing are factored in. In total viewers, ABC lost 8.4 million, a 43% drop, from 9 to 9:30 PM.
Fox’s House (3.4/9) was down 15%, while Lie to Me (1.8/5) was down a tenth. NBC’s Chuck (1.7) was also down a tenth to log its lowest-rated episode ever. The Event (1.7/4) held steady at its series-low level for a third straight week, while fellow freshman Chase (1.4/4), like Hawaii Five-0, took advantage of airing against Skating and not Castle with a 17% rebound from the all-time low it posted for the last couple of weeks. This marked the third consecutive week than no NBC Monday series was able to crack a 2 demo rating, with the network’s high-water mark for the night dropping to an all-time low of a 1.7.
It’s very funny that none of the NBC shows can do better than a 1.7 in the demo. What is the freaking point of airing shows that people clearly don’t watch.
And do they think that they can actually revive the already RIP The Event by benching it for a couple of months and then bringing it back in February? Why bother, viewers have already left the building.
It’s called “raising the dead” (you know – “jump the shark” “nuke the fridge”)
Any way to squeeze it for blood.
R
I have never witnessed such a vicious diatribe against a young person with more intestinal fortitude than the whole 12 of you with an attitude of we really showed her. And all you have done is proving what the world already has learned first hand that we truly are the Ugly americans. When the Third world war comes and it will,I hope all of the young people with any spirit or faith have passed on. For there is not a blessed thing worth sacrificing for left in this land. Before you start your bitching at me I gave up the years 1953 to 1974 for a country that spit and cursed it returning heros bodies and buddies. Youi all are not fit to even enjoy freedom may the liberals soon give your lives to the Hell you are deserving.
I am sorry that you gave all your sacrifice and returned home to a cruel country..I am embarassed for those who treated you that way. We cannot go back, but hopefully you can forgive those who errored you..I had 3 brothers that came home from Vietnam..I am thankful for that..Thank you for your sacrifice!
Your distain for anything or anyone conservative is dripping like thick honey.
There is nothing wrong with Americans questioning their government. Obviously you are a follower, and one willing to drink the kool-aid of Socialism without questioning anything. That is your right, just as it is the right of the American people to demand accountability of the government we finance with our hard-earned tax dollars. You truly need to wake up.
Signs of a socialist country: (Being a philosophy not named after a person it is not capped.)
-single payer health care: America is nowhere near that as we just passed a law that gives the death by spreadsheet insurance industry even more power
-progressive tax rates that make the rich pay way more than the rest: the current top tax rate is 35%. During President Eisenhower it was 91%. Remember Eisenhower when the American middle class was the envy of the world? The general who warned against the military warping our government to get ever more money at everybody’s expense?
-an average of six weeks of vacation time: Most Americans get less than two non-consecutive weeks of vacation.
-nobody going homeless: we have entire families in America that are homeless and the numbers are increasing not decreasing.
-gay marriage and civil unions for those who want a choice: We currently have DOMA and several states that have passed laws against marriage equality.
-a reasonably funded military used primarily for humanitarian aid: our military cost the same as all the other nations spend on their militaries combined. That’s right, with five percent of the planet’s population we spend more than what 95% of the planet spends on the military and ours is often used for war and not humanitarian aid.
When four of those six things materialize you can then whinge about teh evils of socialism. Until then you are an ignorant fool being played by billionaires to support ever more money going to them and away from the middle class.
You sound like a very happy dude…just where do get all your joy in life?
Uh…Ashton…you fly is unzipped and your brains are showing. I believe the word you were struggling for is SUBPOENAS. You really need to relax and ease off on the hate speech…and…it would be a big plus to get your facts straight…all the garbage you attributed to the teaparty is actually policy of the current administration and it’s lackeys. Have a nice day…MORON!
The strangest thing is that the highest paid actor is on one of those comedies on CBS (Charlie Sheen on Two and a Half Men). Maybe he isn’t worth as much as they think he is.
OOooh, so cruel to the mighty NBC. Execs try what they can for a program they believe in. Maybe it needs to find the audience even if it’s under 2 mil. at present. Same happened to Star Trek (but that’s Sci-Fi). Just let ‘em run whatever they think will work. Maybe we’ll get one we like even more.
Aren’t these comments to be about the programs mentioned above? In that case, I LOVED THE SKATING PROGRAM after viewing the Dancing pgm too. It was very well produced and photographed. One factor that may have made it draw more viewers, for future reference, is one more couple – Young and vibrant and smokin’ hot. Needed that bling for the younger set that usually would love to watch ice skating.
Not surprised about Skating With The Stars. It was unwatchable. Who is the audience for that show?!
It was SO bad. Can’t even believe it is on the air.
Gossip Girl last night: 837,000 TOTAL VIEWERS
A18-49: 0.3/ 1
I finally gave up on H5O last night – I’d yet to make it through an entire episode save for the the pilot, but I kept watching, thinking it had to improve at some point given the talent of the creators.
So I watched Chase for the first time and – oh…my…god…what a terrible show. Not just the fact that it’s so staggeringly by-the-numbers in its conception and casting and routine in its execution, but just an instantly forgettable waste of time.
At one time, with CSI (the original) and Cold Case and Without A Trace, Bruckheimer’s factory produced well-conceived and cast shows with intriguing twists on the procedural formula. But now clearly his success is in fact his extraordinary ability to get crap like this and Dark Blue and The Whole Truth on the air.
I guess that’s a talent all in itself…
It really took you this long to figure out Hawaii 5O was a lousy show? That’s like having to eat 6 fruitcakes before you can officially decide they taste like shit. You must be pretty dense to need such a long time to make such an obvious decision.
It’s dimwits like you that allow crap shows like these to stay on the air because you’ll just keep watching forever, hoping they get better.
LOL. I agree. H50 is unwatchable. I usually watch Castle so yesterday I decided to give H50 a new try. It has not improved at all since last September. I think it is even worse. And it won’t get better, after what? 10 episodes? No way.
I usually watch Castle, too, so watched H50 – amazed at how awful it is! The cast is horrible and the plot totally contrived…gag. Where, oh where, has creativity gone?
New series often need a few episodes to find their feet. The dude was just seeing if that happened. It didn’t and he moved on. There is no need to get so angry about it, unless you work for Chase or H50.
Haha! All of you jackasses pay for cable then bitch about how much the shows suck.
what, you jealous ya can’t afford cable…bitch hhahaha
If Skating With Celebrities didn’t work out for FOX, why did ABC think Skating With The Stars would work for them?
One reason most certainly is because ABC believed that with DWTS as a lead in, it was a can’t miss.
But it missed.
One thing I don’t think they realize is that, unlike formal or ballroom dancing, (which only sees the light of day on PBS) we see ice skating all the time. If you’re a devoted fan of ice skating you’ve seen the best of the best thanks to the Olympics, touring shows, etc. Watching a bunch of D-listers flop all over the ice is probably not going to appeal to you.
And who was in charge of casting these “stars” I have truly never heard of half of them. Vince Neil is a fat, drunk driving POS. And Sean Young? What sarcophagus did they dig her out of? EPIC FAIL.
Why would anyone watch intelligent shows like House with clever dialogue when there are brilliant, masterpieces such as Dancing With the Stars and Mike and Molly? Those shows are Rembrandts, and should never be missed. Truly the greatest shows to ever grace the small screen.
Amen! Especially, Mike and Molly…Wonderfully funny and heartwarming at times
Agree w/kevster on Chase – it looks like something that people sit around and tell each other we (women) ought to like – that we should want to see women in charge. So they dish out some two dimensional sourpatch that i would not spend 5 minutes with in real life and will not spend an hour with in my ‘entertainment’ life.
Call me old fashioned or un-feminist but give me Hart to Hart, MacMillan and Wife, Remington Steele or even Bones – she does not have to be the fastest gun in the West. And a sense of humor would help.
As for 5-0 it may be the worst paced show on TV. I have seen the whole thing in any five minutes of it. Shame. Good cast. No spark.
H5O is SO up-and-down… last week’s was exceptional, IMHO, and now this week’s was… well, lame. Flat script, forced banter, laughable ‘action’.
Hope they can find some reliable scripters; this show brims with potential, with likable leads, great location, and good team chemistry. It’s begging for some good stories.
Hope the record numbers that tuned into this one don’t get too bummed. I think every other episode to date has been stronger.
Would like to see some story ‘arcs’ get introduced. ‘NYPD Blue’ was great at this: mostly self-contained shows, but arcs and themes that lasted whole seasons.
Skating actually shows well produced Dancing is — it makes you realize that dancing has got a superb host and vibrant judges — skating was shockingly dull and that combined with some lackluster stars.
I like Hawaii 5-0. I’m not saying it’s a masterpiece for it’s better than a lot of other shows on TV. Not every show is a winner. Scott Caan is the standout to me.
Chase is a In Plain Sight wannabe. The Annie Frost character wants so bad to be Mary of IPS, but she fails. I’ve watched them all, but there is no comparison to the real thing. There are also Criminal Minds tie ins. One actor looks like the CM guy, and the profiles sometimes sound like they came straight out of CM.
I watched the first few Mike and Molly eps; wasn’t impressed and stopped.
House does not entertainment me at all. The Defenders is okay when it’s serious; I don’t like its attempts to be a comedy. I liked The Whole Truth; that show had potential.
I’ve always watched DWTS but if Bristol wins and they don’t overhaul the procedures, I’m done. Mama Palin is behind the voting, and Bristol should have been gone weeks ago.
I liked the original Skating with the Celebrities that Scott Hamilton was behind. It had more folks you know on it. I did watch last night’s Skating with the Stars and was mostly bored. The problem is that they just aren’t known. Sean Young will do anything for attention. The most successful in today’s market is Rebecca Buddig who is one of the sought after daytime stars today.
I was surprised by Vince Neil. Did you know he was a skater as a teenager and won a competition? I was shocked, so while it’s been decades, he had a reason for being there, as did Buddig.
The worst thing was the prolonged commercials,and by that I mean that DWTS had long bits promoting Skating and then Skating had this big segment on The Bachelor. That’s also why people change channels.
So — that’s my dollar for the day.
You watch to much t.v what a loser.. The only reason why the ratings are high is because of Bristol Palin.. and that is the only reason why I watched it… Later you losers back out to my Garage to build another Christmas gift..
If you are angry that people are voting for Bristol Palin on DWTS, imagine how intelligent Americans felt when the nitwits elected Obama as President!
Get over it, it’s just a freakin’ television show!