Dancing with the Stars Turns Super Bowl Night Into Nine-Year High
Dancing with the Stars just delivered its best regular-episode result in more than nine years.
Tuesday's Super Bowl night averaged 6.59 million viewers on a live-plus-same-day basis, which counts live viewing plus catch-up before midnight, in Nielsen Big Data + Panel numbers reported by Deadline as an exclusive. That total was up 2% from the week before.
The demo number rose faster. The episode scored a 1.56 rating among adults aged 18 to 49, the age bracket advertisers follow most closely. That was up 11% week on week and a new season high.
It also kept a streak alive. The show has now grown for four weeks in a row. No episode that was not a finale has rated this well since "A Night at the Movies" back in May 2017.
The night had a clear theme. The remaining couples danced to songs linked to past Super Bowl halftime performers, a ready-made playlist most viewers already know. ESPN Monday Night Football caller Joe Buck joined the judges' table for the night. Viewers cast 70 million fan votes during the broadcast.
On the night, Dancing with the Stars finished top of Tuesday primetime across the major broadcast networks. The series is produced by BBC Studios.
The run started from a solid base. The Season 35 premiere was reported as the show's most-watched opener in six years, and Conner Leavitt was the first celebrity to leave this season, according to Deadline.
Theme nights have worked before as well. A Taylor Swift night in 2023 drew 7.8 million total viewers with a 1.36 in the demo, while last season's Wicked night reached a 1.38 in the demo, then a season high, as reported by Deadline. Tuesday's 1.56 sits above both on that measure.
The show has had second lives before. It earned a two-year pickup for Seasons 31 and 32, which were set to play exclusively on Disney+ in the United States and Canada that fall.
For fans, this means a long-running favourite with fresh momentum. Four straight weeks of growth is hard to pull off in season 35. The vote count points to an audience that is taking part, not just tuning in.
