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Dancing With the Stars is a Hit

ABC executives were shocked to find out that their new reality TV show, Dancing With the Stars was a ratings hit in its Wednesday night slot. Its debut was one of the most watched programs of last week, and this week's ratings simply blew away the competition. The reality series, which pairs celebrities and professional dancers in a competition, averaged 14.9 million viewers and a 4.7 rating/14 share in the demographic, according to preliminary ratings results from Nielsen Media Research. That's up from the 13.5 million viewers who watched the debut last week. Viewers just loved watching Evander Holyfeld and Rachel Hunter trip the light fantastic.

The ballroom dancing competition series also grew its ratings strongly from its first half-hour to its second (adding over a million viewers in the process) -- indicating that unlike Britney Spears' new UPN reality show, viewers liked what they saw and are likely to tune back in again.

Dancing with the Stars' surprisingly strong debut ranked it as the most watched summer series premiere since CBS's smash-hit Survivor premiered back on May 31, 2000 and as the best Adults 18-49 summer debut since the NBC's Last Comics Standing premiered on June 10, 2003.

In an unusual bit of network candor, even the ABC executive responsible for the series had acknowledged odd nature of the series. "I am fully aware that this may sound like the craziest show anyone has ever heard of," ABC alternative programming executive vice president Andrea Wong had stated in the network's April announcement of the six-episode series.

"But in a world where it's easier for reality series to imitate than innovate, I just loved how fresh this format is. And the show's global success just shows how audiences around the world find it to be surprising, and undeniably fun," she added.

We think it's the whole Shall We Dance Effect. Jennifer Lopez has made ballroom dancing hot.

Posted on June 9, 2005

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