or


[03/14/16 - 12:37 PM]
"Underground" Premiere Shatters Records as the Most-Watched Program in Nearly 18 Years on WGN America
WGN America further spins the numbers for Wednesday, March 9.

[via press release from WGN America]

"UNDERGROUND" PREMIERE SHATTERS RECORDS AS THE MOST-WATCHED PROGRAM IN NEARLY 18 YEARS ON WGN AMERICA

HIT ESCAPE THRILLER DELIVERS RECORD-BREAKING LIVE + 3 PERFORMANCE FOR AN ORIGINAL SERIES ON WGN AMERICA WITH 3.5 MILLION TOTAL VIEWERS AND 1.5 MILLION ADULTS 25-54

Audience Surges to 4.9 Million Total Viewers on Premiere Night and 5.7 Million Total Viewers Across the Week with Digital Platforms and Encores

Los Angeles, March 14, 2016 - On the heels of rave reviews, the premiere of WGN America's critically acclaimed hit series "Underground" shattered records as the most-watched program in nearly 18 years on the network, since the Cubs vs. Cardinals game on 9/8/1998 where Mark McGwire famously hit his 62nd home run beating Roger Maris's single season record. In Live + 3 delivery, "Underground" amassed 3.5 million Total Viewers (+43% vs. 2.5 million) and 1.5 Adults 25-54 (+51% vs. 983,000), last Wednesday night (premiere and three encores) to become the highest rated original scripted program ever in the network's history. When adding digital platforms and encores, "Underground" continued its winning streak, outpacing all originals on the network with 4.9 million Total Viewers on premiere night and 5.7 million Total Viewers across the week. The 10 p.m. airing drew 2.3 million Total Viewers (+60% vs. 1,421,000) and 985,000 Adults 25-54 (+68% vs. 585,000), outperforming the network's prime average season-to-date by +948% in the demo.

"We couldn't be happier with the outstanding performance of 'Underground,' but the overwhelmingly positive response of the audience to this story about the unsung American heroes of the Underground Railroad is even more gratifying," said Matt Cherniss, president and general manager, WGN America and Tribune Studios. "The talented creators Misha Green and Joe Pokaski, along with the producers and an amazing cast and crew, have created something truly special."

The commercial-free premiere of "Underground" aired Wednesday, March 9 at 10 p.m., and ranks an impressive #6 in Total Viewers among all scripted cable series premieres this broadcast season and #8 among Adults 25-54.

Lauded for its vivid and thrilling portrayal of the revolutionaries of the Underground Railroad, "Underground's" 3.5 million Total Viewers on the night improved on the premiere nights of the network's popular originals "Outsiders" by +25% (vs. 2.8 million) and "Salem" by +9% (vs. 3.2 million).

From creators and executive producers Misha Green and Joe Pokaski, and executive producer and Academy Award(R)-winner John Legend, the 10-episode, hour-long program tells the unflinching story of a group of courageous men and women who band together for the fight of their lives - for their families, their future and their freedom. In all-new episode of "Underground," "War Chest," airing WEDNESDAY, March 16 (10:00 p.m. ET/PT), a plantation dance becomes the perfect distraction for a heist while John and Elizabeth step into a strange new world.

"Underground" has fast amassed a passionate fan base, and trended on Twitter in its premiere night as the second highest trending topic of the night, only after the Democratic debate. The series was recently honored at the White House with a screening and panel discussion as part of the Office of Public Engagement's Black History Month program. Additionally, "Underground" has been screened at a number of revered institutions, universities and events, including National Civil Rights Museum, 2016 Sundance Film Festival, NAACP, Schomburg Center, DuSable Museum of African American History, Howard University, New York Comic-Con, and more.

The celebrated cast of "Underground" includes Jurnee Smollett-Bell ("True Blood," "Friday Night Lights"), Aldis Hodge ("Straight Outta Compton"), Christopher Meloni ("Sin City: A Dame to Kill For"), Alano Miller ("Jane The Virgin"), ?Jessica de Gouw ("Arrow," "Dracula"), Marc Blucas ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer"), ?Adina Porter ("The 100"), Mykelti Williamson ("Justified," "24"), ?Amirah Vann ("Girls," "And So It Goes"), Johnny Ray Gill ("Rectify"), Chris Chalk ("Gotham"), Reed Diamond ("Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."), Theodus Crane ("The Walking Dead"), James Lafferty ("One Tree Hill"), Renwick Scott ("Treme") and Jussie Smollett ("Empire").

Hailing from Sony Pictures Television and Tribune Studios, "Underground" is created by Misha Green ("Sons Of Anarchy," "Heroes") and Joe Pokaski ("Daredevil," "Heroes,") who executive produce alongside Academy Award-winner Akiva Goldsman ("A Beautiful Mind," "I Am Legend") of Weed Road Pictures; and Joby Harold ("King Arthur," "Edge of Tomorrow") and Tory Tunnell ("King Arthur," "Holy Rollers") of Safehouse Pictures. Visionary artist and producer John Legend, an Academy Award, Golden Globe(R) and multi-Grammy Award winner, and his Get Lifted partners Mike Jackson and Ty Stiklorius executive produce. Additionally, Get Lifted oversees all elements of the show's music. Anthony Hemingway ("The Wire," "Treme") directs and serves as executive producer for the first four episodes.

WGN America and Tribune Studios

WGN America, the flagship entertainment network of Tribune Media Company (NYSE: TRCO) is nationally distributed in nearly 80 million homes via cable, satellite and telco, with high-quality entertainment programming including the breakout hit series "Outsiders" and "Salem," and the upcoming scripted drama "Underground." The network also brings its audience a strong slate of popular first-run syndicated series and blockbuster movies. Through Tribune Studios, the creative development arm of Tribune Media, original content is produced for WGN America and Tribune local stations nationwide. Follow the network on Twitter @wgnamerica. For additional information, please visit www.wgnamerica.com.

About Sony Pictures Television

Sony Pictures Television is one of the television industry's leading content providers, producing and distributing programming worldwide in every genre and for every platform. In addition to managing one of the industry's largest libraries of award-winning feature films, television shows and formats, SPT is home to a thriving US production business and operates 18 wholly-owned or joint venture production companies in 11 countries around the world. SPT's worldwide networks portfolio includes 150 channel feeds, which are available in 178 countries reaching more than 1.3 billion cumulative households worldwide. Sony Pictures Television (SPT) is a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company.





  [march 2016]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
  


· UNDERGROUND (WGN)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[11/01/24 - 11:54 AM]
"High Potential" Continues Linear Dominance as ABC Wins Tuesday 10 p.m. Hour in Total Viewers for First Time in 4 Years
Season to date through week five, "High Potential" stands as ABC's most-watched (10.42 million) new series in six years - since the 2018-2019 season with "The Conners."

[10/31/24 - 06:41 PM]
FOX Sports Caps a Postseason for the Ages as World Series Game 5 Delivers 18.6 Million Viewers
Across all networks, the 120th World Series dominated the television landscape with an average of 15,808,000 viewers, the best combined figure for the Fall Classic since 2017.

[10/30/24 - 03:14 PM]
FOX Sports Hits Grand Slam with Most-Watched World Series Game 4 Since 2016, Peaking at 18.2M Viewers
Through Game 4, the 2024 World Series across all networks is averaging 14,984,000 viewers - its best start since 2017.

[10/29/24 - 03:37 PM]
World Series Game 3: Monday's Most-Watched Program
On FOX, the broadcast averaged 13,208,000 viewers, making it the most-watched Game 3 since 2018.

[10/29/24 - 12:03 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of Oct. 21: "The Lincoln Lawyer" Courts the Top Spot; "Don't Move" Debuts at #1
The new docuseries "This Is the Zodiac Speaking" debuted at #2 with 7.5M views and the feature documentary "Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare" stole #3 (7.2M views).

[10/29/24 - 11:30 AM]
CBS Premiere Episodes Soar in Multiplatform Viewership Led by "Matlock" Premiere Amassing 22.8 Million Viewers in One Month
Other highlights include the series premiere of "Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage" amassed 10.6 million multiplatform viewers in its first seven days.

[10/28/24 - 03:50 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Is Top Program of the Night in Adults 18-49
Season to date, "Dancing with the Stars" stands as the No. 1 entertainment program on broadcast in Adults 18-49 (0.69 rating).

[10/28/24 - 02:05 PM]
Cowboys-49ers Averages Nearly 24 Million Viewers on NBC & Peacock in Most-Watched Week 8 "Sunday Night Football" Game Ever
NBC Sports' audience peaked at 26.4 million viewers in the second quarter (9:15-9:30 p.m. ET).

[10/27/24 - 02:17 PM]
Viewership Gains: World Series Off to Strongest Start Since 2017
With 13,444,000 viewers, it was the most-watched World Series Game 2 on FOX since 2018 (Dodgers-Red Sox: 13,508,000).

[10/26/24 - 01:12 PM]
Gibby, Meet Freddie: MLB Delivers 15.2M Viewers for World Series Game 1
It was the most-watched World Series Game 1 since 2017 (Astros-Dodgers: 15,328,000).

[10/25/24 - 10:57 AM]
The 2024 WNBA Season Delivers Record Viewership Across ESPN Platforms
The 2024 postseason averaged 1.1 million viewers - up 139 percent over 2023's postseason - making it the most-viewed WNBA postseason in 25 years.

[10/24/24 - 01:42 PM]
"Interview with a Killer" Sets Record with Most-Watched Court TV Original Series Debut
The show's initial telecasts were up +50% with Persons 2+ and +60% in P25-54, to become Court TV's top-performing original since the network began being Nielsen rated.

[10/23/24 - 12:35 PM]
"9-1-1" Concludes Wildly Exciting "Bee-Nado" Story Arc, Rising +89% in Total Viewers and +294% in Adults 18-49 Over Initial Live + Same Day Audience
On linear, "9-1-1" ranked as the top entertainment program of the night in both Total Viewers (7.39 million) and Adults 18-49 (0.75 rating).

[10/23/24 - 11:25 AM]
It's a Hallmark Channel Christmas Across Entertainment Cable
"'Twas the Date Before Christmas," "Holiday Crashers," and "Scouting for Christmas" became the Top 3 entertainment cable programs of the week among Households, Total Viewers, and Women and Persons 18+.

[10/22/24 - 03:00 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers vs. CBS' "After Midnight" and NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers" for 6th Consecutive Week
Season to date, "Nightline" is up in Total Viewers (+2% - 989,000 vs. 958,000) versus the comparable weeks last season, posting its largest Total Viewer audience in 5 years - since the 2019-2020 season.