How Did 'Dancing With the Stars' Season 20 Premiere Do in the Ratings?
As usual with "Dancing With the Stars" these days, there was good news and bad news when it comes to the ratings.
Season 20, the 10th anniversary season, premiered last night (March 16) and 14 million people tuned in. That's a lot. It was Monday's most-watched show and up 3 percent from the fall DWTS premiere, in terms of the entire audience. However, advertisers care most about that 18-49 demographic, and even though DWTS was second in that demo behind "The Voice" it still ended up with a 2.0 rating, which is a premiere night low.
However, ABC was quick to note that, against the DWTS premiere, "The Voice" fell to a season low. There was a time when "American Idol" was DWTS's big rival - back when DWTS had 20 million viewers - and now the ratings rival is "The Voice."
Maybe these aren't the numbers ABC hoped for in the hyped-up 10th anniversary season premiere, but when you are 10 years and 20 seasons into a show, it's still incredible to own the night with 14 million viewers. Besides, isn't it time to stop focusing on 18-49? DWTS attracts an older audience and advertisers should really be going for the ones with the money to spend. Is it really the 20-year-olds over the 50-year-olds?