'Dancing': Still kicking it in ratings

The celebrity lineup might have seemed ho-hum when announced, but Tommy Chong, Randy Couture and Alfonso Ribeiro proved they were worth following on "Dancing With the Stars."The ABC dance contest started its 19th season by drawing 13.5 million viewers, biggest audience of the night on a broadcast network. "Dancing" was the overwhelming favorite with Orlando viewers. I wrote about the premiere in a post called " 'Dancing': Tommy Chong smokes it."

In cable, "Monday Night Football" produced a 9.9 overnight household rating, according to early numbers. The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Indianapolis Colts, 30-27.

"Dancing" peaked in the 9 p.m. hour with a 9.1 household rating.

ABC and ESPN together were doing wonders for parent Disney.

The prime-time averages for broadcast: ABC with 11.4 million, CBS with 5.8 million, Fox with 5.5 million for "MasterChef," NBC with 5.2 million for "American Ninja Warrior" and The CW with 1 million. ABC and Fox tied for leadership in the 18-to-49 age group.

CBS' standout was "Under the Dome," which drew nearly 7 million. A "Castle" rerun on ABC also had 7 million fans.

In Orlando, "Dancing With the Stars" pulled in an impressive 248,277 viewers. No. 2 was "Monday Night Football" with 196,566. Rounding out the top five were "Castle" with 121,326 viewers, "Under the Dome" with 95,498 and the two-hour "MasterChef" with 94,668.

Favorites of the local 18-to-49 age group were "Monday Night Football," "Dancing With the Stars," "MasterChef," "Castle" and "American Ninja Warrior."