A&E POSTS BEST YEAR IN NETWORK HISTORY RANKING

FIFTH AMONG ALL CABLE NETWORKS

2008 MARKS THE FIFTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR OF GROWTH FOR THE PERENNIAL TOP 10 NETWORK

NETWORK RANKS NUMBERS 5 IN ADULTS 25-54 AND 6 IN ADULTS 18-49

NEW YORK � December 18, 2008 � A&E is wrapping up the best year in the network's history among all key demographics, ranking number 5 in adults 25-54 and 6 in adults 18-49. This achievement will mark the fifth straight year of growth for the twenty-four year-old network.

Among all ad-supported cable networks in 2008, A&E ranks number 5 in adults 25-54 (up from number 7 in 2007) and number 6 in adults 18-49 (up from number 8 in 2007), finishing ahead of other top ten networks including SCI FI, Lifetime, Discovery and Spike in both demos. With just two weeks left in the year, A&E is averaging 690,000 adults 25-54 impressions in prime time, an 8% increase from 2007. Among adults 18-49, A&E has also climbed 8% over 2007, to 665,000 viewers.

"2008 was marked by the strong performance of A&E's unparalleled slate of real life programming, the introduction of first class original scripted drama and a comprehensive repositioning of the network around Real Life. Drama," said Bob DeBitetto, President and General Manager of A&E and BIO. "It has truly been a remarkable year for A&E, with strong growth throughout the year against a very competitive landscape. This performance gives us great momentum as we look to '09 and the imminent launch of our second scripted series, �The Beast' starring Patrick Swayze, in January."

In a few short years, A&E has risen 10 spots in adults 25-54 (from #15 to #5) and an amazing 15 notches in adults 18-49 (from #21 to #6), making A&E the fastest climber among the major cable networks. Among the target demo of adults 25-54, A&E has finished among cable's top ten networks for 28 consecutive months.

In 2008, eight original series have averaged near or above one million viewers in the adults 25-54 and 18-49 demographics and a record nine series have performed at least 25% stronger than A&E's prime average in adults 25-54, up from five in 2007.

2008 marked A&E's reintroduction of first-class original scripted drama beginning with the two-night epic event "The Andromeda Strain," produced by Ridley and Tony Scott, which averaged 2.7 million viewers adults 25-54 and 2.4 million adults 18-49, ranking as the #1 cable mini-series on the year and garnering 7 Emmy nominations.

The first scripted drama in six years, "The Cleaner" staring Benjamin Bratt premiered in July. In its first season, on a weekly three telecast cume basis "The Cleaner" averaged 4.2 million total viewers, 2.4 million adults 25-54 and 2.2 million adults 18-49 in primetime. "The Cleaner" has become A&E's number one original drama in network history among adults 18-49 and 25-54, roughly doubling the audience of the previous two series in those demos.

In addition to receiving its first Emmy nomination for Outstanding Reality Series in 2008, the Real-Life series "Intervention" grew its audience by 56% over last year, averaged 1.4 million adults 25-54. The sixth season premiere on December 15 became the series' best season opener in series history among all key demos. The episode averaged 1.6 million adults 25-54, 1.7 million adults 18-49 and 2.2 million total viewers.

About A&E Network

A&E is "Real Life. Drama." Now reaching more than 97 million homes, A&E is television that you can't turn away from; where real life shows are dramatic and scripted dramas are authentic. A&E offers a diverse mix of high quality entertainment; ranging from the network's original scripted series including "The Cleaner" starring Benjamin Bratt and "The Beast" starring Patrick Swayze, to signature Real-Life franchises, including the Emmy-nominated "Intervention," "Dog The Bounty Hunter," "Paranormal State" and "Criss Angel Mindfreak," and the most successful justice shows on cable, including "The First 48" and "Crime 360." The A&E website is located at www.aetv.com.

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Ratings Source: Nielsen Media Research (Live + Same Day), 2008 through 12/14/08