Quick Take for Monday, September 28, 2009 (National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)

ABC is Monday's Most-Watched Net, Beating CBS by 2.5 Million Viewers

For the 2nd Week in a Row, ABC's "Dancing" is Monday's Most-Watched TV Show

ABC's "DWTS" Dominates Fox's Premiere of "Lie to Me" and NBC's Series Debut of "Trauma" at 9pm in Adults 18-49

Producing its Best-Ever "DWTS" Retention, "Castle" Beats NBC's "Jay Leno" in Viewers and Adults 18-49 and Is Up Over its Season Premiere in Key Women

Monday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC stood as the most-watched TV network on Monday, outperforming CBS by 2.5 million viewers (14.5 million vs. 12.0 million).

"Dancing with the Stars" (8:00-10:02 p.m.)

For the second week in a row, ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" led its time period and stood as Monday's most-watched TV show (17.0 million). "DWTS" saw its audience increase in Total Viewers (16.9 million to 17.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.6/9 to 3.8/9) from its first hour to its second hour. In fact, from 9:00 - 10:00 p.m. "DWTS" dominated the season premiere of Fox's "Lie to Me" (+31% - 2.9/7) and NBC's series opener of "Trauma" (+73% - 2.2/5).

"Castle" (10:02-11:00 p.m.)

Producing its strongest "DWTS" retention ever, ABC's "Castle" topped NBC's "Jay Leno" by 3.7 million viewers (9.2 million vs. 5.5 million) and by 29% in Adults 18-49 (2.2/6 vs. 1.7/4).

* "Castle" was up from its week ago season premiere in Women 18-34 (2.1/6 vs. 2.0/6) and Women 18-49 (3.2/9 vs. 3.1/8).

A note about increasing DVR penetration and year-to-year rating comparisons: Year-to-year rating comparisons based on the Live + Same Day data stream are distorted by the level of DVR penetration in the Nielsen sample, which has jumped up to 33% currently, from 27% at the same point in 2007. More viewers are watching shows on their own timetables, which may not be reflected in the overnight next day numbers. The only truly valid year-to-year comparison would be one based on the Live + 7 Day metric, once those stats are released by Nielsen.

Source: Nielsen Media Research (National, Live + Same Day Program Ratings), 9/28/09.