TV Ratings: 'Dancing' keeps ABC ahead of CBS' 'Men' and 'Hawaii Five-0'

'Mike & Molly' rises, while NBC's 'The Event' and 'Chase' keep falling

By Daniel Fienberg Tuesday, Oct 5, 2010 11:47 AM

Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic of ABC's 'Castle'

Credit: ABC

Fast National ratings for Monday, October 4, 2010.

After three weeks, most of Monday night's programming has settled into its regular ratings routine, with only minor fluctuations, keeping ABC atop the key races thanks to "Dancing with the Stars" and "Castle." The only source of major flux continues to be NBC's post-"Chuck" lineup, where "The Event" and "Chase" are dropping steadily week-to-week.

Meanwhile, the early return of FOX's "Lie to Me" didn't draw huge numbers, but it certainly exceeded what "Lone Star" had been doing in the same slot.

For the night, ABC averaged a 3.9 rating among adults 18-49, edging out the 3.6 rating for CBS in the key demographic. FOX was a solid third with a 3.0 rating, while NBC's 2.0 rating was fourth. The CW finished fifth with a 1.1 rating.

ABC had a more space overall, averaging an estimated 17.38 million viewers to go with an 11.0 rating/17 share. CBS was a distant second with 11.27 million viewers and a 6.9/11. FOX was third with a 5.0/7 and 8.25 million viewers, ahead of the 3.8/6 and 6.22 million viewers for NBC. The CW's 2.024 million viewers and 1.4/2 were fifth.

"Dancing with the Stars" began the night in first for ABC with 19.5 million viewers and a 4.1 demo rating. FOX's "House" had 10.53 million viewers and a 3.9 demo rating for second. CBS' "How I Met Your Mother" and "Rules of Engagement" were third with 8.52 million viewers. NNC's "Chuck" had 5.39 million viewers and a 1.9 demo rating. On The CW, "90210" did 1.925 million viewers.

ABC stayed on top in the 9 p.m. hour as "Dancing with the Stars" improved to 20.7 million viewers and a 4.6 demo rating. CBS' "Two and a Half Men" (14.24 million and a 4.5 demo) and "Mike & Molly" (12.29 million and a 3.8 demo) were second, both up for the week. NBC's "The Event" had 7.375 million viewers (shedding more than 1.5 million) and a 2.4 demo rating (down by 0.5) in third. FOX's "Lie to Me" premiere was fourth with 5.974 million viewers and a 2.2 demo rating. The CW trailed with 2.12 million viewers for "Gossip Girl."

CBS moved into first in the 10 p.m. hour with 12.03 million viewers and a 3.5 demo rating for "Hawaii Five-0." ABC's "Castle" was a close second with 11.9 million viewers. NBC's "Chase" fell to 5.83 million viewers and a 1.7 demo rating.

All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.

Daniel Fienberg
Executive Editor

A long-time member of the TCA Board and a longer-time blogger of "American Idol," Dan Fienberg writes about TV, except for when he writes about movies or sometimes writes about the Red Sox. But never music. He would sound stupid talking about music.

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RedFi

At what point does NBC become nervous about The Event's numbers? 11.19 mil --> 8.89 mil --> 7.46 mil That's a pretty precipitous drop in 3 weeks, and you have to assume that the Event is not a show that people will necessarily want to pick up mid-stream.

Also, Alan alluded to this in his column on Chuck, but is the failure of other shows a boon to Chuck, or does NBC decide that a steady audience of just under 6 mil, is still not enough to keep it?
October 5, 2010 at 12:06PM EST Reply to Comment
- dan RedFi - I'd assume NBC is already *nervous* about "The Event." But I assume everybody is waiting to see where the bottom is. Like if "The Event" levels off next week? NBC's OK with that, at least in the short term. If it keeps dropping? Yeah. Bad.
  
  And as for "Chuck"? It does what it does at this point and NBC knows exactly what to expect from that. And at this point, of NBC's new shows, "Outlaw," "Undercovers" and "Chase" have all settled into demo numbers that are below what "Chuck" does. I don't know if that's a boon for Season 5, but I suspect it's a boon for a back-nine this season. But that's just a hunch...
  
  -Daniel
  October 5, 2010 at 12:14PM EST
- chudleycannonfodder I think (okay, I and TV By the Numbers) that this makes it more likely that Chuck will get another 6 to 9 episodes, but I'm not going to expect a fifth season right now.
  October 5, 2010 at 10:03PM EST