FINAL DVR DATA REVS UP RATINGS FOR FX FROSH DRAMA SONS OF ANARCHY
Season Finale Tops Series Premiere
Delivers Weekly Audience of 5.83 Million Viewers and 3.9 Million Adults 18-49
Production of Season Two Begins in Spring of 2009
FX Will Close Out 2008 as a Top 5 Basic Cable Network in Primetime Delivery of
Adults 18-49 For the Third Year in a Row
LOS ANGELES, December 18, 2008 � Based on final ratings, FX's critically acclaimed freshman drama series Sons of Anarchy has proven itself to be a worthy successor to the network's award-winning drama series The Shield, which completed its historic seven season run last month.
With the Live +7 ratings factored in from Nielsen Media Research on a multi-telecast basis, Sons of Anarchy delivered a weekly average audience of 5.83 million total viewers (jumping 16% vs. the Live numbers) and 3.9 million Adults 18-49 (up 18% vs. the Live numbers), the highest ratings of any new series on FX since the network's hit series Rescue Me, which debuted in 2004. On a first-run basis the series averaged 2.6 million total viewers and 1.75 million Adults 18-49.
For calendar-year 2008 on a first-run basis, Sons significantly surpassed new and returning basic cable shows on delivery of Adults 18-49 including Saving Grace (1.59 million), Battlestar Galactica (1.58 million), Eureka (1.42 million), Raising the Bar (1.37 million), The Cleaner (1.11 million), Mad Men (879,000) and Breaking Bad (821,000).
Sons of Anarchy showed incredible consistency on a week-to-week basis and actually saw audience growth over the final two episodes, hitting its peak with the season finale (episode 13), which delivered 3 million total viewers on its first run. The second-to-last episode (episode 12) delivered the most Adults 18-49 (2.04 million) in the series entire run. The series premiered on 9/3/08 to 2.87 million total viewers and 1.73 million Adults 18-49.
FX has picked up a second season of Sons of Anarchy, slated to begin in Spring 09. The series stars Charlie Hunnam, Katey Sagal and Ron Perlman and was created by Kurt Sutter who also serves as Executive Producer. John Linson and Art Linson are Executive Producers. The series is produced by FX Productions and Fox21.
The Shield ended its historic seven season run by averaging 3.51 million total viewers and 2.27 million Adults 18-49 on a multi-run basis. The series was recently honored as one of AFI's Top Ten Programs of 2008 and was named Time Magazine's #1 show of 2008.
FX will close out 2008 as a Top 5 basic cable network in Primetime delivery of Adults 18-49 (averaging 709,000 as of 12/11), which will be the third consecutive year that the network has earned this distinction.
FX is the flagship general entertainment basic cable network from the Fox Networks Group. Launched in June of 1994, FX is carried in more than 94 million homes. The diverse schedule includes a growing roster of critically acclaimed and award-winning original series; an established film library with box-office hits from 20th Century Fox and other studios; and an impressive roster of acquired hit series. For more information about FX, visit our web site at www.FXnetworks.com.
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