Detroit 1-8-7 is a Favorite With WXYZ-TV Viewers!

SOUTHFIELD Mich., Sept. 22 -- The highly anticipated premiere of ABC's new cop drama Detroit 1-8-7 on WXYZ-TV, was a huge success. Nearly one third of the all the households in the Detroit market were watching when the show aired Tuesday, September 21 at 10 p.m. Detroit 1-8-7 earned a 30.6 Household rating/47 share, and a 20.8 rating/45 share among Adults 25-54. The performance made ABC affiliate WXYZ-TV number one in the time period with ratings that doubled the combined ratings of its competitors. According to the Nielsen television rating service, more than 834,000 people watched the premiere.

"We're extremely thrilled by the response from viewers throughout the area to Detroit 1-8-7," said Ed Fernandez, VP/General Manager of WXYZ. "Clearly they were anticipating the premiere of the program and from the viewer reaction we've received, I'm certain they will be coming back week after week for more."

Detroit 1-8-7 is the first prime-time drama to be shot entirely in Detroit. The show gives television viewers a look at the lives of fictional cops in Detroit's homicide unit, and will showcase well known Metro Detroit locations in upcoming episodes.

Leading the ensemble cast is Michael Imperioli, from "Sopranos" fame, who plays moody top cop Detective Louis Fitch. The cast also includes, James McDaniel, who starred in the ABC cop show NYPD Blue, Jon Michael Hill, Aisha Hinds, Shaun Majunder, Natalie Martinez, D.J. Cotrona, and Erin Cummings.

Show creators and Executive Producers Jason Richman, David Zabel, and Kevin Hooks, say they are committed to creating a show that uses the city of Detroit as a character and reflects the heroic work being done by Detroit homicide detectives.

WXYZ-TV followed ABC's new gritty police drama with a special Action News investigation into a series of car break-ins at Detroit's Juvenile Court. Action News at 11 p.m. earned a 19.9 rating/37 share and a 15.1 rating/39 share among women 25-54, also doubling the combined ratings of its competitors.

WXYZ-TV is part of Scripps Media, Inc, which operates ten television stations. The corporate parent, The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE: SSP) is a diverse, 131-year-old media enterprise with interests in television stations, newspapers, local news and information Web sites, and comics/features syndication. For a full listing of Scripps media companies and their associated Web sites, visit http://www.scripps.com/.