NIGHTMARES & DREAMSCAPES: FROM THE STORIES OF STEPHEN KING Scares Up Title as Ad-Supported Cable�s #1 New Original Scripted Series Debut for the Year-to-Date among Key Adult Demos
Battleground, Starring William Hurt, Ranks as Cable�s Top Program of the Night with 5.2 Million Viewers;
Crouch End, Starring Eion Bailey and Claire Forlani, Comes in Second for the Night with 4.8 Million Viewers
Four-Week Collection of Eight Mind-Bending Tales Continues Each Wednesday at 9 p.m. (ET/PT)
Turner Network Television (TNT)�s critically acclaimed all-star television event NIGHTMARES & DREAMSCAPES: FROM THE STORIES OF STEPHEN KING debuted last night with the commercial-free presentation of Battleground, starring Oscar winner William Hurt, which ranked as ad-supported cable�s #1 new original scripted series debut among adults 18-49 and adults 25-54 for the year-to-date, according to preliminary data from Nielsen Media Research. Battleground, which delivered more than 5.2 million viewers overall, was followed by Crouch End, starring Eion Bailey and Claire Forlani, which delivered 4.8 million viewers. The stories ranked as cable�s top two programs for the night among key adult demos, viewers and households and helped TNT rank as cable�s top network for the night. Battleground was presented uninterrupted and commercial-free, sponsored by Hyundai.
�Once again, TNT has lit up the summer with critically acclaimed programming that really scores with viewers,� said Steve Koonin, executive vice president and chief operating officer for TNT and sister network TBS. �We are very proud of NIGHTMARES & DREAMSCAPES and thrilled that the audience response to its well-crafted stories has been so strong.�
Ratings highlights for the premiere night of TNT�s NIGHTMARES & DREAMSCAPES:
-- Battleground ranks as ad-supported cable�s #1 new scripted series debut for the year-to-date among adults 18-49 (2,521,000) and adults 25-54 (2,877,000), beating the previous title holder, Psych, which debuted last week with 2,461,000 adults 18-49 and 2,762,000 adults 25-54.
-- Battleground also ranked as cable�s top program for the night among adults 18-49 and adults 25-54, as well as among persons 2+ (5,240,000) and households (3.9 coverage rating, 3.2 national rating, 3,559,000 households).
-- Crouch End ranked behind Battleground as cable�s second-highest-rated program for the day among adults 18-49 (2,518,000); adults 25-54 (2,757,000); persons 2+ (4,757,000); and households (3.4 coverage rating, 2.8 national rating, 3,123,000 households).
-- TNT ranked as cable�s #1 network in prime time last night among key adult demos, viewers and households. In broadcast prime, TNT bested ABC, UPN and The WB among the same categories.
NIGHTMARES & DREAMSCAPES: FROM THE STORIES OF STEPHEN KING continues Wednesday, July 19, with adaptations of Umney�s Last Case, starring Emmy winner and Oscar nominee William H. Macy (Fargo, TNT�s Door to Door and The Wool Cap) and Jacqueline McKenzie (The 4400, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood), and The End of the Whole Mess, featuring Golden Globe nominees Ron Livingston (Band of Brothers, The Cooler) and Henry Thomas (E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Legends of the Fall).
NIGHTMARES & DREAMSCAPES comes to TNT from Bill Haber�s Ostar Productions, with Haber (The Uprising, Jack and the Bean Stalk: The True Story, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow) serving as executive producer. The series producers include Mike Robe, Jeffrey Hayes and John McMahon.
Turner Network Television (TNT), a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., is television�s destination for drama and one of cable�s top-rated networks. It offers original movies and series, including the blockbuster detective series The Closer, starring Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards nominee Kyra Sedgwick; Saved, a new character-driven drama starring Tom Everett Scott; and this summer�s four-week television event Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King. TNT is also home to powerful one-hour dramas, such as Without a Trace, Law & Order, Las Vegas, Cold Case, ER, Charmed and Judging Amy; broadcast premiere movies; compelling prime-time specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards; and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR and the NBA. TNT is also available in high-definition.
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, is a major producer of news and entertainment product around the world and a leading provider of programming for the television industry.
Source: Turner Research from Preliminary Nielsen Media Research data, based on most current data available (Live+SD). Complete and final data (Live+7) will be available in two weeks. Prime time is M-Su 8-11pm. Total Day reflects total programming hours for each network as reported by Nielsen. The following networks do not program the entire M-Su 6a-6a daypart: A&E, ABC Fam, ADSM, Bio, CMDY, CNBC, Court TV, Discovery, ENT, FX, FOOD, GAME, HIST, HGTV, Lifetime, NAN, NGC, NICK, OXY, HALL, TLC, TSOU, WE, WGN and SPIKE. All ratings based on Total U.S. Television Universe of 110,200,000 homes. Movie rankings include all ad-supported program telecasts coded as feature films in Nielsen Media Research systems. (Data for 3 a.m.-6 a.m. last night not yet available.)
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