ABC and Disney+ opened Dancing With The Stars Season 35 with a two-night premiere, and Night One delivered the franchise’s strongest premiere audience in six years. The Monday episode drew 6.67 million total live + same-day viewers, according to preliminary Nielsen data. That is up 24% from the Season 34 premiere. Because the early number excludes some delayed and streaming viewing, it should rise when Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel figures arrive later this week.
Key metrics from Night One
- Total viewers: 6.67M, up 24% year over year
- Adults 18-49: 1.48 rating, up 40%
- Women 18-34: 2.53 rating, best premiere delivery in 13 years
- Competitive position: top entertainment telecast in the demo since ABC’s Oscars
The demo story is the real signal
For media buyers, the adults 18-49 jump matters more than the topline viewer gain. The premiere scored a 1.48 rating in the demo, up 40% year over year and the show’s best premiere performance in nearly a decade. In Nielsen’s ranking, that made it the top entertainment telecast on all of television among adults 18-49 since ABC’s Oscars.
Women 18-34 is where the franchise is accelerating fastest. The premiere delivered a 2.53 rating in that group, the best for a premiere in 13 years. That is consistent with a casting approach built around reality TV and influencer names, which brings an audience that behaves more like digital-native viewers than traditional broadcast loyalists. For advertisers, the young-female concentration is particularly valuable because that audience is usually fragmented across streaming and social video.
Why the two-night premiere changes the comparison
Season 35 has one of its largest casts yet, so ABC split the opener: male celebrities danced Monday, and the women take the floor Wednesday, with an elimination after each night. Last season’s opener was a single Tuesday episode, so the 24% comparison is based on comparable Night One figures rather than an exact format match.
That split creates both risk and upside. The risk is audience leakage between nights. The upside is a second high-value telecast on a different night, more inventory for advertisers and a longer window for voting and social conversation. The first-night result suggests the format has enough momentum to absorb the change.
What the voting surge tells us
ABC has not released a vote total because the women had not yet performed. But online voting crashed Monday and host Alfonso Ribeiro said the show recorded record-breaking text votes. That engagement signal matters for sponsors because it indicates active, lean-in viewing rather than passive background audience.
The season is produced by BBC Studios. Wednesday’s episode will be the next data point. Because it includes names such as Maura Higgins, Ciara Miller and Julia Stiles, it could either extend the premiere advantage or show how much of the audience was tied to Night One’s lineup.
Source: Deadline
