TV Ratings: ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Stays Hot With Season 35 Premiere
Dancing With the Stars did not lose any of its ratings momentum in the offseason. If anything, it picked up steam.
The ABC competition opened its 35th season Tuesday with a sizable jump in both viewers and the key ad-sales demographic of adults 18-49 over its 2025 premiere. DWTS drew 6.67 million viewers, based on preliminary Nielsen ratings, a 24 percent improvement on last year’s debut (5.38 million) and a little ahead of the show’s full-season average of 6.5 million viewers. It was the most watched season premiere for the series since season 29 in September 2020.
Dancing’s gains were even bigger among adults 18-49, where it scored a 1.48 rating — up 40 percent from last year’s premiere and higher than every episode last season except for the finale. The last time a DWTS season premiere scored a better 18-49 rating was in September 2017. One more superlative: Among women 18-34, the premiere’s 2.53 rating was the highest for a season opener since season 17 in 2013.
All the numbers above could change a bit in the final ratings, which will include Nielsen’s big data component.
The big ratings for Dancing With the Stars came for a night that saw the eight male contestants perform with their professional partners. The episode was marred some by a glitch in the show’s voting system; viewers weren’t able to choose their favorites on the DWTS website and had to vote by text. The eight women celebrities will take the floor Wednesday for their first dances.
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