USA NETWORK'S "KOJAK" IS HIGHEST-RATED PREMIERE ON BASIC CABLE THIS YEAR
USA NETWORK'S ORIGINAL SERIES KOJAK IS HIGHEST-RATED AND MOST- WATCHED NEW SERIES PREMIERE ON A BASIC CABLE NETWORK THIS YEAR
Newest USA Original Hit Draws 7.5 Million Viewers on its Debut Weekend
New York, NY, March 29, 2005 -- USA Network was the #1 ranked basic cable network in prime this week among households, total viewers and key demos (P18-49 and P25-54), driven by the success of Friday's series premiere of the USA Network original drama KOJAK, which earned a 3.9 household rating with 4.5 million viewers watching (P2+). KOJAK was also the top-rated non-sports basic cable program in prime among households and total viewers for the week, as well as Friday night's most-watched show on cable among P25-54.
Taken together with its encore presentation on Sunday night, KOJAK grossed a total of 7.5 million viewers.
Friday's telecast of KOJAK was the highest-rated and most-watched new series premiere on basic cable this year. KOJAK garnered double digit gains for its time slot up +21% among P25-54 and +12% with P18-49 versus its Q105 quarter-to-date average. The premiere enabled USA Network to claim the top two season premieres for original series so far this year on basic cable, joining Monk on 1/21/05 (4.4 household rating and 5.5 million viewers).
With the addition of KOJAK, USA Network now holds five of the six top original series premieres in basic cable history, including The 4400 (5.7 household rating and 7.4 million viewers), The Dead Zone (4.7 household rating and 6.4 million viewers), Peacemakers (4.0 household rating and 5.2 million viewers) and Monk (3.5 household rating and 4.8 million viewers).
USA NETWORK
USA Network is cable television's leading provider of original series and feature movies, sports events, off-net television shows, and blockbuster theatrical films. USA Network is seen in over 88 million U.S. homes. The USA Network Web site is located at www.usanetwork.com.
USA Network is a program service of NBC Universal Cable a division of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience.
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Source: Source: Nielsen Media Research Galaxy Explorer, qualifications available upon request.
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