U.S. Nielsen ratings
When did the Vampire Diaries first air on TV?
The Vampire Diaries
The series premiere on September 10, 2009 gave The CW its biggest series premiere scoring 4.91 million viewers. Adding in DVR numbers, the ratings for the premiere swelled to an official 5.7 million viewers. The following is a table for the seasonal rankings, based on average total estimated viewers per episode of "The Vampire Diaries". "Rank" refers to how "The Vampire Diaries" rated compared to the other television series which aired during prime time hours.