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COMEDY CENTRAL� RECORDS HIGHEST RATED AND MOST WATCHED QUARTER EVER
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#1 Cable Network In Prime Among Men 18-24 And Men 18-34
Solidifies Hold On Young Men With Double-Digit Gains In Ratings And Delivery
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Persons 18-49 Delivery Also Up Double Digits
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"South Park" Continues To Dominate As The #1 Show In All Of Television Among Men 18-24
For Wednesday Prime During Its 12th Season
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"The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" And "The Colbert Report"
Score Best Quarters Ever Among Men 18-34
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NEW YORK, April 1, 2008 -- COMEDY CENTRAL celebrates its 17th birthday today as healthy and vital as the young men that continue to gravitate to the all-comedy channel in record numbers, making it the #1 ranked cable network in Prime among Men 18-24 and Men 18-34 during Q1 2008.
The all-comedy channel delivered stellar ratings and delivery in Q1 2008, posting best-ever numbers among Adults 18-49, Men 18-24, Men 18-34 and Total Viewers. The network was led by all-time great "South Park," which has ranked as the #1 show in all of television in Wednesday Prime (beating out "American Idol") during its 12th season; "Lewis Black's Root of All Evil," which registered COMEDY CENTRAL's best series launch since "Chappelle's Show" in 2003; the fifth season of "RENO 911!," which was up +23% vs. last season; and "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report," which each had its best quarter ever among Men 18-34.
COMEDY CENTRAL's Q1 2008 highlights include:
Prime Rating (8:00p-11:00p)
HHLD: 0.9, (up +1% vs. 1Q07)
P18-49: 0.7 (up +7% vs. 1Q07) - highest rated quarter ever
M18-24: 1.4 (up +27% vs. 1Q07) - highest rated quarter ever
M18-34: 1.2 (up +20% vs. 1Q07) - highest rated quarter ever
Prime Delivery (8:00p-11:00p)
Total Viewers: 1.1 million (up +5% vs. 1Q07) - most watched quarter ever
Households: 855,000 (up +6% vs. 1Q07) - most watched quarter ever
P18-49: 722,000 (up +10% vs. 1Q07) - most watched quarter ever
M18-24: 168,000 (up +32% vs. 1Q07) - most watched quarter ever
M18-34: 328,000 (up +26% vs. 1Q07) - most watched quarter ever
Prime Rank vs. Basic Cable Nets (8:00p-11:00p)P18-49: #5 (tied)
M18-24: #1 (1.4)
M18-34: #1 (tied, 1.2)
PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS
"South Park" Season 12 Premiere (March 12)
The 12th season premiere of "South Park" earned a 2.3 HH rating / 2.1 P18-49 rating, drawing 3.1 million total viewers and 2.3 million P18-49 viewers.
The premiere produced double digits gains vs. the season 11 premiere -- +28% on P18-49 ratings, +32% on P18-49 delivery, +11% on total viewer delivery.
Rankers for the premiere include:
#1 in ALL TV for Wednesday Prime among M18-24, beating out "American Idol"
#1 in Wednesday Cable Prime among P18-49 and M18-34.
#2 in ALL TV for Wednesday Prime among M18-34 behind only "American Idol"
During the current season (three episodes), "South Park" has been #1 TV show for Wednesday Prime with M18-24 (averaging a 5.2), beating out "American Idol" every single week.
"Lewis Black's Root of All Evil" Series Premiere (March 12)
The series premiere of "Lewis Black's Root of All Evil" drew a 1.8 HH / 1.5 P18-49 rating, drawing 2.3 million total viewers (P2+) and 1.7 million viewers P18-49
The premiere was the best COMEDY CENTRAL series launch since "Chappelle�s Show" in 2003.
The series premiere of "Lewis Black's Root of All Evil" was second only to "South Park" in Wednesday Cable Prime among M18-24 and M18-34.
Among M18-24, "Root of all Evil" was #3 in ALL TV, behind "South Park" and "American Idol"
"RENO 911!" Season 5 (January 16 - March 5)
The first half of season five of "RENO 911!" averaged a 1.1 P18-49 rating, the show's best performance since its first season and up +23% from last season.
In its timeslot (Wednesdays, 10:30p-11:00p), "RENO 911!" was #2 in ALL TV among M18-24 and # 3 among M18-34.
Versus cable nets, "RENO" ranked #4 among P18-49.
Stand-up Month
COMEDY CENTRAL had its best Stand-up Month ever in January 2008.
The Sunday Stand-up premieres averaged a 1.3 P18-49 rating, jumping +48% over last year.
The specials also scored an excellent 2.5 M18-24 rating, a +56% increase over last year.
"The Daily Show with Jon Stewart"
"The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" delivered a 1.7 M18-34 rating during 1Q08, up +7% from both 1Q07 and 2007 overall.
M18-34 delivery: 481,000, up +13% from 1Q07 and +11% from 2007 overall.
"The Colbert Report"
"The Colbert Report" delivered a 1.5 M18-34 rating, up +9% from 1Q07 and +13% from 2007 overall.
M18-34 delivery: 435,000 up +14% from 1Q07, +17% from 2007
COMEDY CENTRAL, the only all-comedy network, currently is seen in more than 91 million homes nationwide. COMEDY CENTRAL is owned by, and is a registered trademark of, Comedy Partners, a wholly-owned division of VIACOM Inc.'s (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B) MTV Networks. COMEDY CENTRAL's Internet address is www.comedycentral.com. For up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs visit Press Central, COMEDY CENTRAL's press web site at www.comedycentral.com/press.
MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. MTV Networks, with more than 150 channels worldwide, owns and operates the following television programming services - MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, VH1, mtvU, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN/THE N, VH1 CLASSIC, MTVN INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 13 digital services, all of these networks trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks connects with its audiences through its robust consumer products businesses and its more than 300 interactive properties worldwide, including online, broadband, wireless and interactive television services and also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide.
Source: Nielsen Media Research, most current data (12/31/07-3/30/08)
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