FOX INTERNATIONAL CHANNELS (FIC) KICKS OFF "THE WALKING DEAD" SEASON 2 GLOBAL ROLLOUT; FIRST SHATTERED RECORDS ARRIVE FROM SPAIN
SPAIN LEADS THE GLOBAL PREMIERE, WHICH BEGAN
LAST NIGHT AND ENDS ON SATURDAY, THE 22ND
(Fox Spain's creative team in preparation for the premiere)
Following the Stellar Performance in the US on AMC,
The Walking Dead's Worldwide Premiere is following a similar trend
Los Angeles, CA - Oct 18, 2011 - Just a few hours after AMC's record-breaking premiere Sunday, October 16th, Fox International Channels (FIC) extended the streak by kicking off The Walking Dead's second season global rollout to its own record numbers.
Last night FIC's first key market, Spain, got off to an impressive strong start, delivering the best ratings results for 18-49 in FOX Spain's ten year life span and the second best debut ever in the history of the channel. The launch was the first ever hybrid multi-platform launch ever on Spanish television.
Key Kantar Highlights in Spain for the season two premiere are as follows:
· 432,000 Total Viewers, 316,000 Viewers Adults 18-49
· 411% increase respectively over season one premiere
· Over 470% increase in average PT for the month of October
"The Walking Dead has gone from phenomenon to pandemic," said Hernan Lopez, CEO of FIC. "The numbers that came in from Spain this morning, combined with the astounding launch results in the US, tell us that the virus is now out of control."
"The response to 'The Walking Dead' has been remarkable. It's a universal story of survival and we are so pleased to partner with Fox International Channels to bring it to life on screen," said Charlie Collier, AMC's president. "And now to learn that the series is the most watched drama series against key demos in countries around the globe? It just underscores that the zombie infiltration is global."
The show will launch globally this week on all Fox International Channels worldwide before the second episode airs in the US. The second season of The Walking Dead will reach FOX audiences in 122 countries, speaking 35 languages and will be seen by over 200 million viewers internationally. FIC is projecting a similar ratings trend, as seen in the US and Spain, in the rest of its markets. 50% of AMC's The Walking Dead social media fans are international; a staggering number that validates the commitment of international viewers to the show.
Some of FIC's key markets to launch the show later this week:
Market Day Date
LatAm Tues Oct 18th
Brazil Tues Oct 18th
Portugal Tues Oct 18th
South Africa Tues Oct 18th
Middle East Wed Oct 19th
Norway Thurs Oct 20th
UK Friday Oct 21st
Germany Friday Oct 21st
Poland Sat Oct 22nd
Korea Sat Oct 22nd
The Walking Dead secured a 2010 Golden Globe nomination for best television series and won the 2011 Emmy award for outstanding prosthetic make-up. The series tells the story of the months and years that follow after a zombie apocalypse. It follows a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes, who travel in search of a safe and secure home. The comic goes on to explore the challenges of life in a world overrun by zombies who take a toll on the survivors, and sometimes the interpersonal conflicts present a greater danger to their continuing survival than the zombies that roam the country. Over time, the characters are changed by the constant exposure to death and some grow willing to do anything to survive.
FIC owns all international rights for The Walking Dead outside of North America. Entertainment One handles third party Broadcast TV, Digital and Home Video sales for the show outside of FIC's channels.
International fans can stay connected with The Walking Dead by visiting FIC's official website http://ficshows.com/en/the-walking-dead/home, regional Facebook and Twitter pages.
*Sources: KANTAR (Spain)- SOA viewers in Pay TV Universe
About FOX International Channels
FOX International Channels (FIC) is News Corporation's international multi-media business. We develop, produce and distribute 200 wholly- and majority-owned entertainment, factual, sports and movie channels across Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa, in 35 languages. These networks and their related mobile, non-linear and high-definition extensions, reach over 380 million subscribing households (875 million cumulative) worldwide. FIC is dedicated to delivering high quality content to its global viewers. We acquire, develop, produce and co-produce scripted and non-scripted programming for our linear and digital platforms including, most recently, the Golden Globes nominated and Emmy winner series, The Walking Dead. FIC owns and operates four production studios internationally, as well as a digital studio arm dedicated to the production of short form series.
About AMC
AMC reigns as the only cable network in history to ever win the Emmy(R) Award for Outstanding Drama Series four years in a row, as well as the Golden Globe(R) Award for Best Television Series - Drama for three consecutive years. Whether commemorating favorite films from every genre and decade or creating acclaimed original programming, the AMC experience is an uncompromising celebration of great stories. AMC's original stories include "Mad Men," "Breaking Bad," "The Walking Dead," "The Killing" and "Hell on Wheels." AMC further demonstrates its commitment to the art of storytelling with its slate of unscripted original series, as well as curated movie franchises like AMC's Can't Get Enough and AMC's Crazy About. Available in more than 97 million homes (Source: Nielsen Media Research), AMC is owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc. and its sister networks include IFC, Sundance Channel and WE tv. AMC is available across all platforms, including on-air, online, on demand and mobile. AMC: Story Matters HereSM.
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