'AMERICAN GLADIATORS' IS THE HIGHEST-RATED NEW-SHOW PREMIERE OF THE SEASON IN ADULTS 18-49, AND NBC'S TOP NEW-SHOW PREMIERE IN THE DEMO SINCE 'HEROES'

'AMERICAN GLADIATORS' IS THE HIGHEST-RATED NEW-SHOW PREMIERE OF THE SEASON IN ADULTS 18-49, AND NBC'S TOP NEW-SHOW PREMIERE IN THE DEMO SINCE 'HEROES'

'GLADIATORS' SCORES NBC'S HIGHEST NON-SPORTS 18-49 RATING IN THIS SUNDAY TIME PERIOD IN NEARLY THREE YEARS

'AMERICAN GLADIATORS' RANKS #1 IN ITS HIGHLY COMPETITIVE TWO-HOUR SLOT IN ADULTS 18-49, ADULTS 18-34 AND ALL KEY ADULT-MALE DEMOS

BURBANK, Calif. January 7, 2008 "American Gladiators" debuted last night with the highest 18-49 rating for any new-show premiere on any network this season, and NBC's top 18-49 rating for a new-show debut since "Heroes," according to "fast affiliate-based" "live plus same day" viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research.

Last night from 9-11 p.m. ET, the debut of "American Gladiators" (5.9 rating, 14 share in adults 18-49, 12.0 million viewers overall) scored NBC's highest non-sports 18-49 rating in this time period in nearly three years (since the January 16, 2005 telecast of the Golden Globe Awards). In total viewers, it was NBC's top non-sports program in the slot since the Emmy Awards on August 27, 2006.

"American Gladiators" delivered the highest 18-49 rating for any debuting NBC show since the September 25, 2005 debut of "Heroes" (also a 5.9). It's NBC's highest-rated debut for an unscripted series since the original premiere of "The Apprentice" on January 8, 2004.

"American Gladiators" ranked #1 in its highly competitive two-hour time period in adults 18-49, as well as in adults 18-34 and all key adult-male demographics. In its second hour, from 10-11 p.m. ET, "Gladiators" nearly matched the ABC-CBS original competition combined in adults 18-49 (6.0 for "Gladiators" vs. a 6.1 combined for ABC's "Cashmere Mafia" and CBS's original "Cold Case") and it beat the ABC-CBS competition combined in adults 18-34 and all key adult-male demos.

From 7-9 p.m. ET, a special edition of "Deal or No Deal" (3.0/7 in 18-49, 10.4 million viewers overall) scored NBC's top non-sports results in this time period in both 18-49 and total viewers in the past year (since January 5, 2007). From its first half-hour to its fourth, "Deal" increased by 150 percent in 18-49 rating (to a 4.0/9 from a 1.6/4) and by 92 percent, or more than 6.3 million persons, in total viewers (to 13.1 million from 6.8 million).

Pending updates, NBC finished within one-tenth of a rating point of the Sunday win in adults 18-49 and won the highly competitive night decisively among adults 18-34. NBC's 4.4 rating for the night matches the network's best Sunday non-sports performance since January 16, 2005 (Golden Globes), and NBC's total-viewer average (11.2 million) is the network's best excluding sports since August 27, 2006 (Emmy Awards)

Preliminary 18-49 averages for Sunday night are: ABC and CBS, 4.5/11; NBC, 4.4/11; Fox, 2.7/6; CW, 0.3/1. In overall total viewers, January 6 preliminary results are: CBS, 15.3 million; ABC, 12.8 million; NBC, 11.2 million; Fox, 5.8 million; CW, 790,000.

Note that all national ratings are "live plus same day" unless otherwise indicated.