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.
Do you have the numbers for ESPN’s NFL game (Denver at San Diego)??
I suspect that after 9:30 P.m. EST, it was the most-watched program in its timeslot.
Waa, waa, Bristol should have been gone, Mama Palin manipulating the vote…did it ever occur to you that ABC was manipulating the vote? Like her or not Bristol is giving them their biggest ratings, they were going to ride that as long as they could.
Did it ever occur to you that maybe Bristol Palin is GOOD, you leftwing Sodomite? You just hate conservatives, that’s all.
Vote Palin or die.
Not if your a TV!! That’s “Don’t vote Palin or die!!”
Re: Skating with the Stars. The best thing about that program is Dick Button. I adore him and agree with everything he says. ABC needs to utilize him more. However, the show is a disaster starting with the “celebrities.” Who are they? I had to finally turn it off. Oh, the emcee was horrid.
the only reason i watch dancing with the stars is cause i love bristol. i think she’s great don’t like brandy or jennifer they have an attitude larger than life jennifer tried to get some pity votes brandy was so desperate it showed in her attitude and bristol is so honest and so improved i think she deserves it more than anyone and i love her family.
Yet another village idiot missing from England? Move to Alaska with the Palins as nanny to Bristols bastard child.
I bet you have a few bastards in your own family!
YOU’RE SICK!
if you losers spent as much time looking for jobs as you do complaining about the Palins, you would be employed and maybe happy. as it stands, you hate your life so much that you can only find joy in putting down a mom and her daughter. congrats!
You sound like a village idiot. You have no shame. How could anyone call a child a bast___?
Such ugly words.
This is what we’re up against, people.
My guess is that all the Palin fans switched to Fox right after DWTS, to watch her on Hannity.
So what if they did tune to Fox News ? Didn’t you tune in to The Rachel Maddow show on MSNBC? Who cares? Like O’Reilly says “maybe if you sat down (or actually watched Fox before slamming it) you’d learn something.
Maybe you should turn off a low IQ show like DWTS and put on the Discovery or History channel and learn something.
Heh, Heh! Heh! Watcha’ wanna say! Bristol Palin, Bristol Palin, Bristol Palin, Bristol Palin……….Upset folks?… so it is. UGly responses…from those (in looks & personality) some folks hate the Bristol Palins of this world…because they’re very popular. Most of you sit with mirrors reflecting scenes of where your “sun-don’t shine” wishing you had any of the “stuff” Bristol Palin has. Actually, you don’t hate Ms Palin.. you hate her Mom. Some of you also “hate” the existance of Sarah’s little baby boy…with a birth defect. Have you ever judged your own hypocracies? Bristol, like her Mom..can shoot a Grizzley bear ( if neccessary) …bring it home, skin it and have it for dinner. You retards can’t live even with a penknife…. for a week without having a “foodmart” within walking distance. Sarah is an important figure in today’s politics. Her record speaks of that fact when compared to “your” inadequate “hero”.. Obama. What did he REALLY accomplish in life?…except being voted in…which is what WE NOW HAVE! The voters on the show ELECTED Bristol Palin….because she is a good looking dancer!…..so, go “eat worms” and listen to Rush Limbaugh about the really Ugly Women on this earth. Stop trashing young, talented ladies and have a Happy Thanksgiving! Bye the way…how ’bout a Reality Show with true action?….maybe Michelle Obama & Sarah Palin on an uninhabited Island… with just a penknife….survival, of course. Which person do you think would survive without a local “foodmart”? With even Barrack there…..I know who would survive. But, alas, Sarah would be feeding them.. as she is a REAL HUMAN! Regards.
…What the fuck?
Probably what Levi said?
Ignorant moron! I’m sure a village in England is wondering where the “Village Idiot” went?
Wow! How incredibly lame!
JohnDoe got it right (if you were able to read it). But there is a germ of a good idea in there: a single episode snuff film of Michelle Obama and Sarah Palin off on an ilsand somewhere. Just enough time for intros and one cycle of commercials then Michelle would be off to Washington and La Palin off to her next incarnation. There’s tough (Michelle) and there’s mouthy (the other one).
Dude? Did you seriously just call Michelle nObama tough? What crack are you smokin’ ’cause ah needtuh git me summa dat shiznitty!
I can see your reality show now but the ‘ilsand’(sic) is Sitka: Michelle with a skinning knife in one of those super stylish outfits she wears from the five -n- dime store, looking down in horror at the moose she’s been tasked with skinning and quartering.
Meanwhile, Sarah’s got her sleeves rolled up and is already quartering out her moose when she hears ‘can someone send in some of my people to do this for me?’ from over in Michelle’s direction….
I’d LOVE to see that match! The First Wookiee wouldn’t last five minutes with Momma Grizzly. Sarah Palin can field-dress a moose. Michelle Obama can only dress ghetto.
you are one sick person does your mother know you desperately need help or is she just like you
Dudge, I was with you until: “You retards can’t live even with a penknife…. for a week without having a “foodmart” within walking distance.”
“Retards,” Dudge? It wasn’t that long ago when Sarah Palin called the use of the word “retard” is “crude and demeaning.” It’s morons like you that make us Palin supporters look like, well, morons Thanks, guy. Wipe the foam off your mouth and try again for a reasoned response.
I watched some of ABC’s Skating with the Stars.
Unlike Dancing with the Stars,one can’t vote until near the end of the show. I tried to vote and it gave me that message so
I turned it off.
On Dancing with the Stars I found it odd that they would give a dance
to Ms Gray that she danced in Dirty Dancing.
I voted for Kyle, he and Bristol were beginners who got better as the show went on. Having said that I don’t really care who wins
I just want Joan Rivers on next year..
how sad that everyone is so upset because Bristol should have been gone a long time ago. One could say that Bristol isn’t the best dancer but Bristol has NEVER been a dancer before now. Gray has been a dancer, the kid also is an entertainer on the Disney Channel. Bristol has never been in front of a camera or entertain anyone. By all rights she should win because she has done something that the others have been doing all their lives. I say vote for Bristol because if its ok to have an amateur in the white house then we can an amateur win the disco ball.
Yes, and clearly your political beliefs have nothing to do with your choice of Bristol whatsoever.
And, your political beliefs have nothing to do with the HATE you feel for the daughter of a popular politician who does not share your opinion!
All you friggin’ lefties thought this was a wonderful show until Bristol Palin was asked to participate this season. Now all of a sudden you all think the show sucks. I hope the girl wins the whole enchilada just to piss you idiots off. In fact, I hope you are all so affected by it that you all get a case of hemorrhoids that only a surgeon can fix…