ABC's Is Monday's Most-Watched Network/DWTS is Up in Viewers from its Last Opener Against The Voice/Castle Builds on its Last Original

ABC Monday Prime (8-11pm - 13.3 million and 2.2/6 in AD18-49): ABC was the most-watched network on Monday and took second in Adults 18-49. ABC marked its most-watched Monday since November (since 11/25/13), drawing its 2nd-largest audience on the night this season.

· Up against competition from The Voice and How I Met Your Mother on St. Patrick's Day, ABC's 18th season premiere of Dancing with the Stars (15.0 million and 2.5/7) was up 6% in viewers and held even in Adults 18-49, compared to the last time that the show's opener had to face The Voice in Fall 2012 (14.1 million and 2.5/7 on 9/24/12). Please note: Last Fall the show premiered prior to the start to of the official season against much lesser competition and last Spring the opener faced The Biggest Loser instead of The Voice on NBC. Also with an additional minute to come into the mix this afternoon, Dancing's numbers often adjust up in the National ratings.

· Dancing with the Stars was Monday's most-watched TV show, outdrawing NBC's The Voice in head to head competition by 1.7 million viewers (15.0 million vs. 13.3 million).

· Among Adults 18-49, ABC's DWTS was higher rated than both telecasts of American Idol last week (2.4 rating on Wednesday and a 2.2 rating on Thursday).

· Castle was up over its last original telecast (3/3/14) by 1.5 million viewers (9.9 million vs. 8.4 million) and by 13% in Adults 18-49 (1.8/5 vs. 1.6/5) to deliver its best numbers since the beginning of February - since 2/3/14.

Quick Take for Monday, March 17, 2014 (Fast Affiliate Live +Same Day Ratings)

ABC is No. 1 on Monday with Largest Overall Audience Since November

ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" Season Premiere Stands as Monday's Most-Watched TV Show, Leading NBC's "The Voice" by 1.7 Million Viewers

At 10pm, ABC's "Castle " Delivers its Best Numbers Since Early February, Beating CBS' "Intelligence" By 87% in Total Viewers and by 64% in Adults 18-49

Monday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m. - 13.3 million and 2.2/6 in AD18-49):

ABC was the most-watched network on Monday and took second in Adults 18-49. ABC marked its most-watched Monday since November (since 11/25/13), drawing its 2nd-largest audience on the night this season.

"Dancing with the Stars" (8:00-10:00 p.m. - 15.0 million and 2.5/7 in AD18-49):

Up against competition from "The Voice" and one of the final episodes of "How I Met Your Mother" on St. Patrick's Day, ABC's 18th season premiere of "Dancing with the Stars" (15.0 million and 2.5/7) was up 6% in viewers and held even in Adults 18-49, compared to the last time that the show's opener had to face "The Voice" in Fall 2012 (14.1 million and 2.5/7 on 9/24/12). The premiere of "DWTS" was the No. 1 most social broadcast series on Monday with 176,265 tweets.

Please note: Last Fall the show premiered prior to the start of the official season against much lesser competition and last Spring the opener faced "The Biggest Loser" instead of "The Voice" on NBC. Also with an additional minute to come into the mix this afternoon, "Dancing's" numbers often adjust up in the National ratings.

· Gaining viewers from its first half-hour to its final half-hour (14.5 million to 15.5 million) to lead its 2-hour time-slot, "Dancing with the Stars" was Monday's most-watched TV show, outdrawing NBC's "The Voice" in head to head competition by 1.7 million viewers (15.0 million vs. 13.3 million).

· Among Adults 18-49, ABC's "DWTS" (2.5 rating) was higher rated than both telecasts of Fox's "American Idol" last week (2.4 rating on Wednesday and a 2.2 rating on Thursday).

"Castle" (10:00-11:00 p.m. - 9.9 million and 1.8/5 in AD18-49):

"Castle" was up over its last original telecast (3/3/14) by 1.5 million viewers (9.9 million vs. 8.4 million) and by 13% in Adults 18-49 (1.8/5 vs. 1.6/5) to deliver its best numbers since the beginning of February - since 2/3/14. In addition, "Castle" towered over CBS' "Intelligence" in the hour in Total Viewers (+87% - 9.9 million vs. 5.3 million) and in Adults 18-49 (+64% - 1.8/5 vs. 1.1/3).

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 49% currently, from 47% at the same point in 2013. 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: The Nielsen Company, Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings, 3/17/14. Nielsen Social Guide, total tweets, as dated.