8.9 MILLION VIEWERS CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAYS WITH THE ROBERTSONS

A&E's "DUCK DYNASTY" CHRISTMAS SPECIAL Posts Double Digit Increases from Last Year's Holiday Special

Season Five of Mega-Hit Unscripted Series to Premiere January 15

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 12, 2013 - 8.9 million Total Viewers joined the holiday festivities with The Robertson Family last night during A&E's one-hour Duck Dynasty Christmas Special, calling in a +37% jump from the program's holiday special last year. In its 10pm time period, the special also averaged 4.6 million Adults 25-54 viewers (+21%) and 4.5 million Adults 18-49 viewers (+15%), according to Fast Nielsen Ratings.

Season five of Duck Dynasty is set to premiere on Wednesday, January 15, 2014, with back-to-back episodes at 10:00 and 10:30PM ET/PT.

Season four of Duck Dynasty burst out of the gate, premiering to 11.8 total million viewers in August 2013, making it the #1 nonfiction series telecast in cable history and the series' best season ever. America has fallen in love with the bearded, camo-clad Robertson family, who have become a cultural phenomenon in less than two years.

In season five, new characters are introduced to the loveable Robertson family dynamic. Rebecca, Willie and Korie's foster daughter returns from college in Los Angeles and adjusts to life in Monroe, Louisiana. Meanwhile, Willie's growing business and new ventures aren't slowing down and he's in need of an assistant. As usual, there's always one more family member in need of a job at Duck Commander.

Duck Dynasty is produced for A&E Network by Gurney Productions. Executive producers for Gurney Productions are Deirdre Gurney and Scott Gurney. The executive producer for A&E is Lily Neumeyer.

About A&E Network

Now approaching 100 million homes, A&E is the home to 100% original content that inspires and challenges audiences to BE ORIGINAL. A&E offers a diverse mix of high quality, uniquely immersive entertainment ranging from the network's original scripted series, including "Bates Motel," "Longmire" and "Those Who Kill," to signature non-fiction franchises, including "Duck Dynasty," "Beyond Scared Straight" and "Storage Wars." The A&E website is located at aetv.com. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/aetv and Facebook at facebook.com/AETV.