"48 HOURS" FINISHES ITS 30TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR AS SATURDAY'S #1 NON-SPORTS PROGRAM FOR THE 12TH CONSECUTIVE TELEVISION SEASON

CBS News' 48 HOURS finished its 30th anniversary year as Saturday's #1 non-sports program for the 12th consecutive television season, according to Nielsen most current ratings for the 2017-2018 broadcast season.

Television season-to-date, 48 HOURS delivered 4.65 million viewers and a 1.0/04 with adults 25-54, the demographic that matters most to those who advertise in news.

48 HOURS began as the documentary 48 HOURS ON CRACK STREET in 1986, which featured the reporting of 10 CBS News correspondents and 15 crews over a period of one weekend to chronicle the impact of the sale, use and effect of drugs. It became a regular series on Jan. 19, 1988, with the show built around a team of correspondents covering one subject for 48 consecutive hours. Over time, it evolved into the premier broadcast for law, crime and justice stories. 48 HOURS remains the third-longest-running primetime series on network television.

Reporting by 48 HOURS journalists has been credited with uncovering new information that has led to high-profile cases being overturned and wrongfully convicted people released from prison. To name a few, 48 HOURS has had an impact on the cases of Ryan Ferguson, who spent 10 years behind bars for a murder he didn't commit; the West Memphis Three, three men convicted for killing a young boy; and Martin Tankleff, who as a teenager was convicted of killing his parents and today walks free, now a lawyer. 48 HOURS has earned numerous awards, including three Peabodys, 20 Emmys(R), four RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Awards and the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award.

48 HOURS is broadcast Saturdays at 10:00 PM, ET/PT. Susan Zirinsky is the senior executive producer.

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