Monday's broadcast attracted 16.8 million viewers.
Monday's opener of ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" was the lowest-rated spring edition premiere in the series eight-year run, according to Nielsen overnight numbers.
The show had 16.8 million viewers – an 11 percent drop from the spring 2012 premiere. However, the broadcast was up 15 percent from the fall 2012 premiere and finished second in Monday night's ratings behind Fox's "American Idol."
Season 16 contestants are Disney Channel actress Zendaya, country singers Wynonna Judd and Kellie Pickler; comics D.L. Hughley and Andy Dick; Olympians Dorothy Hamill and Alexandra Raisman; reality TV personalities Sean Lowe ("The Bachelor") and Lisa Vanderpump ("The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills"); "General Hospital" actor Ingo Rademacher; boxer Victor Ortiz; and Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Jacoby Jones.