“How I Met Your Mother” Ratings Solid, “90210” Steady

While “90210” was essentially a non-factor in Monday’s premiere ratings battle and did not even perform glowingly in The CW’s target women 18-34 demographic, the show surprised by holding steady against tighter competition.

With a 1.0 adults 18-49 rating and 2.2 million viewers, the third-season soap was up slightly from last week’s season premiere. It also drew more eyeballs than lead-out “Gossip Girl,” which posted a 1.0 rating with only 1.9 million viewers. “Gossip Girl” was, nonetheless, the stronger performer in young female demographics.

Elsewhere, returning CBS comedy “How I Met Your Mother” kicked off its sixth season with a decent showing. Given some ratings slowdown at the end of last season and competition from a highly-anticipated “Dancing with the Stars” season premiere (a 4.9 rating with 21.1 million viewers for the two hour premiere), there was worry that “How I Met” would take a hit Monday. But while it did not achieve any sort of ratings domination, it at least showed steadiness in its audience, posting a 3.6 rating with 8.8 million viewers.

Despite showing relative ratings strength compared to “How I Met” at the end of last season, “Rules of Engagement” had a tougher time Monday with a 3.1 rating and 8.3 million viewers.