A&E KICKED OFF THE NEW YEAR WITH THE RECORD BREAKING SEASON PREMIERE OF 'THE FIRST 48'

2.3 MILLION VIEWERS TUNED-IN ON NEW YEARS DAY TO THE EIGHTH SEASON PREMIERE OF THE HIT REAL-LIFE SERIES

NEW YORK � January 5, 2009 � 2009 began on a strong note, with the season eight premiere of the hit real-life justice series, "The First 48," on New Year's Day at 9:00 PM/ET. The episode drew 1.3 million adults 25-54, 1.4 million adults 18-49 and 2.3 million total viewers, making it the most-watched season opener in the series' eight seasons.

"The First 48" was also the number one original series telecast of the night in the key adult 18-49 and 25-54 demographics, among all cable networks, and A&E tied for first place for the hour among adults 18-49.

The acclaimed real-life series "The First 48" follows homicide detectives in real time during the critical first 48 hours of murder investigations and gives viewers unprecedented access to the crime scenes, forensic processing and interrogations of the Minneapolis, Tucson, Miami, Memphis, Dallas, Cincinnati and Detroit police departments.

New episodes of "The First 48" air Thursdays at 9:00 PM/ET on A&E.

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.