“Deal or No Deal’s” highest-rated outing in nearly a year boosted the premiere of NBC’s new reality show “My Dad is Better Than Your Dad” to respectable if not spectacular numbers last night.

“Dad” averaged a 3.5 adults 18-49 rating, according to Nielsen overnights, losing about a third of “Deal’s” 5.2 lead-in but finishing a close second in the 9 p.m. timeslot, 0.1 behind CBS.

“Dad” remained steady from its first to its second half, seeing no declines, and it also averaged 9.8 million total viewers, finishing second in the slot as well.

But it did lose a great deal of “Deal’s” lead-in. That show was once again NBC’s Monday night MVP, leading the network to its sixth straight Monday win among 18-49s with its top-rated episode on any night since March 5. “Deal’s” average shot up 40 percent from its first to its second half hour, from a 4.3 at 8 p.m. to a 6.0 at 8:30 p.m., and the show averaged 16.8 million total viewers.

Meanwhile, the season finale of ABC’s “Dance Wars: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann” matched a previous series low with a 2.3.

NBC was first for the night among viewers 18-49 with a 3.8 average overnight rating and a 10 share. Fox was second at 3.1/8, CBS third at 2.8/7, ABC fourth at 2.1/5, Univision fifth at 1.8/5 and CW sixth at 0.7/2.
 
At 8 p.m. NBC started the night in the lead with a 5.2 for “Deal,” followed by Fox with a 3.1 for “Prison Break.” Univision was third with a 2.3 for “Al Diablo con los Guapos,” ABC fourth with a 2.2 for the first half of “Dance War,” CBS fifth with a 2.1 average for a repeat of “How I Met Your Mother” (2.2) and a new “Welcome to the Captain” (2.0), and CW sixth with a 0.5 for a repeat of “Gossip Girl.”
 
CBS jumped to first place at 9 p.m. with a 3.6 average for a “Two and a Half Men” rerun (4.0) and a new “The New Adventures of Old Christine” (3.3), with NBC a close second with a 3.5 for “My Dad is Better than Your Dad.” Fox was third with a 3.2 for “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles,” ABC fourth with a 2.5 for its second hour of “Dance War,” Univision fifth with a 1.6 for “Pasion” and CW sixth with a 0.9 for the premiere of “Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious.”
 
At 10 p.m. NBC regained the lead with a season-low 2.8 for “Medium,” while CBS slipped to second with a 2.7 for a repeat of “CSI: Miami.” ABC was third with a series-low 1.6 for “October Road” and Univision fourth with a 1.5 for “Cristina.”
 
NBC also finished first for the night among households with a 7.0 average overnight rating and an 11 share. CBS was second at 5.6/9, ABC third at 5.1/8, Fox fourth at 4.8/7, Univision fifth at 2.1/3 and CW sixth at 1.1/2.