Overnight Ratings: ABC Dances to No. 1
By Rebecca Stropoli -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/20/2007 12:46:00 PM
The two-hour fourth-season premiere of ABC's Dancing With the Stars, featuring the highly publicized appearance of Paul McCartney's ex Heather Mills, two-stepped it to the top Monday night, earning a 6.3 rating/16 share in the key 18-49 demo.
Although down a bit from the third-season finale, which scored a 7/18 for one hour, it was the highest-rated program of the night and increased its numbers every half-hour, going from a 5.5/16 to a 6.9/16. It was also the best-rated Dancing premiere ever.
The network had a second-place finish in the 10-11 slot with a 2.8/8 for What About Brian. It beat out NBC's The Black Donnellys (2.4/6), and both were pummeled by CBS' CSI: Miami (5.3/14).
ABC finished with a 5.2/13 overall.
Fox was in second place with a 4.0/10 for Prison Break (3.4/9) and 24 (4.6/11).
CBS was third with a 3.9/10 overall for its comedies and crime. CSI: Miami was its highest-rated show.
NBC was in fourth place with a 3.6/9 for two hours of Deal or No Deal (4.2/11) and Donnellys, which continues to sink each week. Its down from a 2.6/7 from last week , when it beat What About Brian.
The CW scored a 1.0/2 for its comedy lineup.
