Monday Night Football Ratings Prove ABC Was Right to Trade Away ‘Dancing With the Stars’

It looks like ABC made the right decision handing “Dancing With the Stars” off to Disney+ in favor of Monday Night Football.

During primetime Monday, the broadcast network posted a whopping 3.5 in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and 12.1 million total viewers broadcasting the NFL matchup between Minnesota Vikings vs. the Philadelphia Eagles.

For comparison, season 30 of “DWTS” (the last to air on ABC) averaged a 0.74 in the demo and about 5 million total viewers.

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Overall, the summer ratings slump seems to be nearing its end. While ratings across the other major broadcasters were no doubt depressed by the two pro football games that aired last night, they all still saw a decent boost in ratings now that they’ve got some new programming to debut.

The premieres of Season 22 of “The Voice” on NBC and “9-1-1” on Fox also fared quite well, each notching a 0.7 in the demo. The long-running singing competition series drew a larger audience, though, with 6.1 million people tuning in compared to Fox’s 4.8 million at that hour.

NBC also unveiled its “Quantum Leap” reboot, which had fairly average numbers, holding onto a 0.5 in the demo and an audience of 3.3 million.

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Here’s how ratings shook out across the major broadcast networks:

ABC, which aired Monday Night Football across primetime, was first in ratings with an average 3.5 rating in the key demo and in total viewers with an average of 12.1 million, according to official live plus same-day Nielsen data.

NBC was second in ratings with an average 0.6 in the demo, while NBC and CBS tied for second in terms of total viewers, each with an average about 5.2 million. Fox was third in ratings with an average 0.5 in the demo, and CBS was fourth with a 0.4. Fox was fourth in total viewers with an average of 3.6 million.

On NBC, the premiere of “The Voice” Season 22 hit a high note with a 0.7 demo rating and 6.1 million total viewers at 8 p.m. At 10, the network debuted its “Quantum Leap” reboot to a 0.5 in the demo and 3.3 million total viewers.

As for Fox, the premiere of “9-1-1” Season 6 answered the call to a 0.7 demo rating and 4.8 million total viewers at 8 p.m. At 9, “The Cleaning Lady” Season 2 debut raked in a 0.5 demo rating and 2.4 million total viewers. The network doesn’t air primetime programming at 10.

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And on CBS, the premiere of “The Neighborhood” kicked things off with a 0.5 demo rating and 4.8 million total viewers at 8 p.m. At 8:30, “Bob Hearts Abishola” premiered to a 0.4 in the demo and 4.4 million total viewers. “NCIS” Season 20 debuted with a 0.4 demo rating and 5.8 million total viewers at 9. “NCIS: Hawai’i” ended the night with the Season 2 premiere earning a 0.4 and 5.3 million total viewers at 10.

The CW was fifth in ratings with an average 0.0 in the demo and in total viewers with an average of 298,000. The network opted for reruns, staring with “Mysteries Decoded,” which got a 0.0 and 281,000 total viewers at 8 p.m. At 9, “Penn & Teller” had a 0.0 and 314,000 total viewers. The CW also doesn’t air primetime programming at 10.

Among the Spanish-language networks, Univision was first in the ratings with an average 0.4 in the demo, as well as in total viewership with an average of 1.4 million across primetime. “La Herencia, Un Legado de Amor,” which aired from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., received a 0.4 demo rating and 1.2 million total viewers. “Los ricos también lloran” got a 0.3 in the demo and 1.1 million total viewers at 10.

Telemundo was second in the ratings with a 0.2 average and in total viewers with an average of 892,000. “Top Chef: VIP,” which ran from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., cooked up a 0.3 demo rating and 982,000 total viewers. It was followed by “Fuego del Destino,” which earned a 0.2 demo rating and 765,000 total viewers from 9 to 10. “Infiel: Historia de Un Engaño” ended the night with a 0.2 demo rating and 896,000 total viewers.

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