Ratings from Monday Night 9/21

The premieres of House and Dancing with the Stars dominated the evening of Monday September 21st while Heroes disappointed. Fox came away with the win for the night, ABC placed second and NBC finished in a distant fourth.

A significant development for House is seen in the 16% increase over last season’s premiere. Fox did a great job of really making this premiere an “event” and it really felt a lot like a standalone movie that anyone would enjoy even those who may not have followed the series closely before. The especially critical 18-49 demo poured in with an exceptional 6.5 rating. It’ll be interesting to see how much it may dip throughout the season. Vets of the series are hoping things don’t fall back into the same formulaic pattern. The premiere certainly was a great example of the excellence the show can offer. It was one of the best episodes of television I’ve seen in some time.

Meanwhile viewers showed little interest in the two hour event for Heroes. Not only was it the lowest in series history down 15% from the season three premiere, but it lost viewers in the second hour which is an indication that the “fresh start” wasn’t enough for those frustrated with the show. In comparison House picked up nearly an additional 1.5 million viewers in its second hour over the first. A 2.8 rating in the 18-49 demo is especially startling and could lead to further slashes in the budget for the show if things don’t pick up. It is worth noting that Heroes is the type of show that could be stronger in DVR viewers however. The overall poor showing from Heroes also hurt the ratings for The Jay Leno Show which followed it with its lowest ratings of any night so far in its run.

8PM
ABC: “Dancing with the Stars” season premiere (17.4 million viewers)
FOX: “House” season premiere (15.8 million viewers, topped hour in 18-49 with 6.1)
CBS: 8PM “How I Met Your Mother” season premiere (9.2 million viewers)
CBS: 830PM “Accidentally on Purpose” series premiere (9 million viewers)
NBC: “Heroes” season premiere (6.3 million viewers)
The CW: “One Tree Hill” (2.5 million viewers)

9PM
ABC: “Dancing with the Stars” (17.6 million viewers)
FOX: “House” (17.2 million viewers, topped hour in 18-49 with 6.8)
CBS: 9PM “Two and a Half Men” season premiere (13.6 million viewers)
CBS: 930PM “The Big Bang Theory” season premiere (12.8 million viewers)
NBC: “Heroes” (5.8 million viewers)
The CW: “Gossip Girl” (2.1 million viewers)

10PM
CBS: “CSI: Miami” season premiere (13.8 million viewers)
ABC: “Castle” season premiere (9.4 million viewers)
NBC: “The Jay Leno Show” (5.7 million million viewers)