HGTV Design Star Contributes to Record August Ratings Among Younger Viewers

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. [For Immediate Release - September 1, 2009] HGTV's August 2009 Prime Time (M-Su 8P-11P) delivered the highest ever prime time monthly rating in the history of the network among P18+, with a 0.7.

In addition, HGTV's August 2009 delivered the highest ever monthly prime time average audience in the history of the network among: HHs (1,087,000), P18+ (1,272,000 P18+), M18+ (315,000), W18+(956,000), P18-49 (487,000), M18-49 (146,000), P25-49 (448,000), M25-49 (138,000), M25-54 (172,000) according to Nielsen Media Research.

HGTV Design Star continued its strong performance for a seventh straight week, particularly among younger demos. The Sunday, 8/30/09 episode at 10P delivered a 2.09 HH Rtg/1.20 P25-54 Rtg.

On average, the seventh episode of this season delivered 2,568,000 P2+ impressions. It also performed well among P18-49 with a 0.93 Rtg. In comparison to last season's seventh episode, this week improved across the board. In particular, increases ranged from 6% (P18-49) to a 9% gain among P25-54, W25-54, and W18-49 over last season's seventh episode.

Since the premiere episode of season four, nearly 20 million P2+ and more than 10 million P25-54 have tuned in to watch the series.

The strong performances lead HGTV to a #8 P25-54 ranking among ad supported cable in prime on Sunday night. The seventh episode of Design Star placed 4th among all ad supported cable programs.

The HGTV Design Star section is also a huge hit online at HGTV.com with millions of weekly page views driving traffic up +127 % and video plays per week up +30% versus the previous season. More than 1.5 millin online votes also have been cast for the fan favorite.

About HGTV

HGTV, America's leader in home and lifestyle programming, is distributed to more than 95 million U.S. households and is one of cable's top-rated networks. HGTV's website, HGTV.com, is the nation's leading online home-and-garden destination which attracts an average of 5 million unique visitors per month. HGTV owns 33 percent of HGTV Canada and provides much of the Canadian network's daily programming.

The network's branded programming also can be seen in 120 territories across all seven continents and its selected programming is available to military personnel onboard Navy ships and through American Forces Radio & Television Service (AFRTS), which services more than 1,000 outlets in over 175 countries. Headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., with offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York and San Francisco, HGTV is wholly owned by Scripps Networks, which also operates Food Network, DIY Network, Fine Living Network and Great American Country.