Nielsen ratings were expected to be high due to the return of Bitty Schram to Monk, which premiered immediately before the pilot of White Collar. This proved to be true, and it was estimated that the premiere was seen by 5.400 million household viewers, which was the sixth-most watched program on cable television for the week; the only scripted program to surpass it was its lead-in, Monk. For its 10 PM EST time slot, White Collar was the top-rated program on cable.
