ION Television Closes Out 2008 with a 67% Increase in Primetime Viewership
Network Becomes One of the Top Ten Fastest Growing Entertainment Networks
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- ION Television, the "Positively Entertaining" network, ends the year on top with significant growth in primetime viewership since the launch of the network's fall rebranding campaign, with marked growth in the 25-54 and 18-49 demos.
ION TV's primetime household viewership has grown 67 percent, jumping from a 0.3 to 0.5 household rating*, since the introduction of the network's new, robust slate of critically acclaimed off-net series in September.
This viewership growth has well positioned ION TV as one of the fastest growing entertainment networks, up 26 percent among adults 18-49, ranking second, and up 25 percent among adults 25-54, ranking third, of all ad supported broadcast and cable networks, in a year over year growth comparison.**
"Our strategy to acquire contemporary mainstream off-net series to attract an expanded audience is beginning to deliver," said Brandon Burgess, Chairman and CEO, ION Media Networks. "We're looking forward to 2009 when we begin to introduce originals and hit series like the �Ghost Whisperer' and �Criminal Minds' to our programming line-up."
Eleo Hensleigh, Chief Marketing Officer, ION Media Networks adds: "The success of our rebranding effort last fall is evidenced by the significant growth in viewership and our shift to a more robust demo. With the aggressive programming plans we have for 2009, we believe ION's brand awareness will continue to grow exponentially."
*NMRGalaxy Explorer: Monday-Sunday 8-11pm, 9/8/08-9/30/08 vs. 12/1/08-12/31/08
**NMRGalaxy Explorer: 9/29/08-1/15/09 vs. 10/1/07-1/17/08 among entertainment networks that are distributed to at least 80 million households (excludes cable news networks and Noggin)
About ION Television
ION Television (www.iontelevision.com) is a general entertainment network which reaches over 94 million U.S. television households via its nationwide broadcast television, cable and satellite distribution systems. Launched in 2006, ION Television features popular TV series and movies from the award-winning libraries of RHI Entertainment, CBS Television, NBC Universal, Sony Pictures Television, Twentieth Television and Warner Bros. Parent company, ION Media Networks, Inc., owns and operates the nation's largest broadcast television station group. Using its digital multicasting capability, ION Media Networks has launched the digital TV brands qubo, a channel for children focusing on literacy and values, and ION Life, a channel dedicated to active living and personal growth. It also has launched Open Mobile Ventures Corporation (OMVION), a business unit focused on the research and development of portable, mobile and out-of-home transmission technology using over-the-air digital television spectrum. For more information, visit www.ionmedia.com.
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