TV Ratings: 'Romantically Challenged' premiere lags, but ABC wins Monday

'Dancing with the Stars' is still big, but a lesser lead-in knocks 'Castle' to second

By Daniel Fienberg Tuesday, Apr 20, 2010 10:50 AM

The cast of ABC's 'Romantically Challenged'

Credit: ABC

Fast National ratings for Monday, April 19, 2010.

Despite lackluster premiere numbers for the premiere of "Romantically Challenged," ABC had little trouble carrying Monday night thanks to another strong evening for "Dancing with the Stars"

Among adults 18-49, ABC averaged a 3.8 rating, just beating the 3.4 rating for CBS and FOX in the key demographic. NBC's 1.1 rating was fourth, while The CW trailed with a 0.4 rating.

Overall, ABC averaged an estimated 15.83 million viewers and a 10.1 rating/16 share. CBS was second with a 6.4/10, with FOX's 5.8/9 taking third. NBC was a distant fourth with a 2.7/4, leaving The CW in fifth with a 0.7/1.

"Dancing with the Stars" won the 8 p.m. hour for ABC with a 12.8/20 and a 4.4 demo rating. FOX's "House" was second with a 6.3/10 and a 4.0 demo rating. On CBS, new episodes of "How I Met Your Mother" and "Rules of Engagement" had a 4.7/7. A repeat of "Chuck" on NBC did a 2.0/3, beating The CW's repeat of "One Tree Hill."

In the 9 p.m. hour, ABC won again, with "Dancing with the Stars" rising to a 14.1/22 and a 5.3 demo rating and the premiere of "Romantically Challenged" dropping to a 7.5/12 and a 3.1 demo rating. Those "Romantically Challenged" numbers don't look so bad until you remember that CBS' comedies were in repeats and similar numbers failed to win long-term support for "Surviving Suburbia" last spring. Those aforementioned CBS' repeats of "Two and a Half Men" and "The Big Bang Theory" had a 7.1/11 for second on the hour. FOX's "24" was third with a 5.4/8, well ahead of NBC's "Trauma," which had a 3.0/5. The CW's "Gossip Girl" repeat was fifth.

The impact of "Romantically Challenged" was felt in the 10 p.m. hour, where CBS' "CSI: Miami" moved back into first with a 7.3/12 and a 3.3 demo rating. After winning its time slot over the past few weeks, ABC's "Castle" fell to second with a 6.8/11 and a 2.7 demo rating, product of a lesser lead-in. That left NBC's "Law & Order" in third.

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.