Four weeks into its 34th season, Dancing With the Stars is on a ratings roll.
The ABC show has grown its first-night audience every week since the season premiere on Sept. 16, hitting a high of 5.88 million viewers for Tuesday’s Disney-themed night. That was up a tick from 5.83 million same-day viewers a week earlier and marks the first time in the show’s long history that the same-day audience has grown for three consecutive weeks after a season premiere.
DWTS is also hitting with younger viewers at a level not seen in several years — not just compared to its own past, but for any network show that isn’t live sports. The show has topped a 1.0 rating among adults 18-49 (equivalent to about 1.36 million people in that demographic) in each of its first four weeks. With most shows now getting the bulk of their 18-49 viewers via streaming, that’s a notable accomplishment.
Here’s just how notable: DancingWith the Stars is on pace to be the first broadcast series (again, excluding sports) to average a same-day 1.0 or better among adults 18-49 in five years. A handful of shows reached that threshold in the 2020-21 season.
Through Tuesday, DWTS is averaging 5.64 million viewers and a 1.14 rating in adults 18-49 for the season (without streaming or any other delayed viewing). The show is running 16 percent ahead of last season’s same-day average in total viewers and 56 percent above last season’s 18-49 number.
The improved ratings for Dancing With the Stars also seem to be helping its lead-out, High Potential. Tuesday’s episode hit a season high of 4.51 million first-night viewers — which will likely more than double in the coming days as High Potential is one of the most streamed network series currently airing.
