TWO-NIGHT PREMIERE EVENT DELIVERS A COMBINED 15.6 MILLION VIEWERS, 9.7 MILLION ADULTS 18-49 AND 9.1 MILLION ADULTS 25-54 WITH THREE DAYS OF TIME-SHIFTING INCLUDED
NEW YORK, NY – February 17, 2015 – After debuting on February 8 as the biggest series premiere in cable history among adults 18-49 based on Nielsen live/same day ratings, “Better Call Saul” is now confirmed as the #1 series premiere in cable history among adults 18-49 and adults 25-54 in live+3 ratings, which include three days of time-shifted viewing.
The series’ two-night premiere on February 8and 9delivered a combined total of 15.6 million viewers, 9.7 million adults 18-49 and 9.1 million adults 25-54 (live+3). The viewership records were set by just the first half of the two-night premiere, the February 8 telecast, which delivered 9.8 million viewers, 6.1 million adults 18-49 and 5.7 million adults 25-54.
For the current television season, AMC is now home to 3 of the top 5 cable series (live+3) among adults 18-49 with “The Walking Dead” at #1, “Better Call Saul” at #2 and “Talking Dead” at #5. Including broadcast networks, AMC has two of the top 10 series this TV season among adults 18-49 with “The Walking Dead” at #1 and “Better Call Saul” at #9.
“This is a terrific start for a program we love. We so appreciate everyone involved, starting with creators and showrunners Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, series star Bob Odenkirk and an amazing studio partner in Sony, team of EPs, cast and crew,” said Charlie Collier, AMC president. “There are many who are responsible for taking ‘Better Call Saul’ from ‘Can we actually do this?’ to the biggest series premiere in the history of cable television. It’s a good day indeed and, at the same time, we all know there’s a lot of road to navigate ahead. We remain collectively focused on sharing, in style, Jimmy McGill’s long, strange trip from nail salon to Cinnabon.”
Key Nielsen Highlights for the Two-Night Series Premiere of “Better Call Saul” (L+3)
Episode 1 (Sunday, February 8th)
- 9.8 million viewers, up +42% from live/same day (6.9 million viewers)
- 6.1 million Adults 18-49, up +40% from live/same day (4.4 million Adults 18-49)
- 5.7 million Adults 25-54, up +43% from live/same day (4.0 million Adults 25-54)
Episode 2 (Monday, February 9th)
- 5.8 million viewers, up +69% from live/same day (3.4 million viewers)
- 3.6 million Adults 18-49, up +76% from live/same day (2.1 million Adults 18-49)
- 3.4 million Adults 25-54, up +84% from live/same day (1.9 million Adults 25-54)
Top 5 Cable Entertainment Programs, Season to Date: Adults 18-49 (Live+3)*
1. AMC THE WALKING DEAD 12,767
2. AMC BETTER CALL SAUL 4,962
3. FX SONS OF ANARCHY 4,866
4. FX AMERICAN HORROR STORY 4,492
5. AMC TALKING DEAD 3,949
Top 10 Entertainment Programs, Season to Date: Adults 18-49 (Live+3)*
1. AMC THE WALKING DEAD 12,767
2. CBS THE BIG BANG THEORY 8,153
3. FOX EMPIRE 7,371
4. ABC MODERN FAMILY 6,318
5. ABC HOW TO GET AWAY W/MURDER 6,035
6. NBC THE BLACKLIST 5,843
7. ABC SCANDAL 5,803
8. NBC THE VOICE 5,128
9. AMC BETTER CALL SAUL 4,962
10. FX SONS OF ANARCHY 4,866
Source: Nielsen Media Research (000), L+3. *Season averages exclude sports, specials, and encores, and include The Big Bang Theory two-episode season premiere.
“Better Call Saul’s” premiere drove sustained engagement across digital and social media, with the program ranking as the most searched series based on Wikipedia page views, more than tripling any other program with nearly half a million page views between February 8-11. A cast Q&A alongside excitement surrounding “Breaking Bad” Easter eggs drove “Better Call Saul” to trend on Twitter for a significant portion of the evening on both February 8 and 9, and encouraged users to engage with “Better Call Saul’s” official Twitter presence more than any other non-sports cable series between February 8 and 9, ranking behind only “The Walking Dead.”* Additionally, the new series has stoked the excitement of fans on Facebook. The “Breaking Bad” Facebook page heavily cross-promoted “Better Call Saul,” contributing to a 250% weekly increase in Facebook engagement on “Breaking Bad’s” official page and propelling it to rank third among scripted non-sports cable series for the week based on total Facebook engagement. More than 83% of “Better Call Saul’s” Facebook fans engaged with the show’s Facebook page the week of premiere.**
*Twitter engagement is inclusive of new Followers, official Retweets, Favorites, Handle mentions, Hashtag mentions and Listed’s.
**Facebook engagement reflective of new page Likes, official post Likes, Shares & Comments, and Hashtag mentions.
Source: Data provided by ListenFirst Media.
About AMC
Whether commemorating favorite films from every genre and decade, or creating acclaimed original programming, AMC brings to its audience something deeper, something richer, Something More. The network reigns as the only cable network in history ever to win the Emmy® Award for Outstanding Drama Series four years in a row with “Mad Men,” and six of the last seven with current back-to-back honoree, “Breaking Bad.” The network boasts the most-watched drama series in basic cable history and the number one show on television among adults 18-49 for the last two years with “The Walking Dead.” AMC’s original drama series include “Mad Men,” “The Walking Dead,” “Better Call Saul,” “Hell on Wheels,” “TURN: Washington’s Spies,” “Halt and Catch Fire,” and the forthcoming “Humans,” “The Making of The Mob: New York,” “Into the Badlands” and “The Night Manager.” AMC also explores authentic worlds and discussion with original shows like “Talking Dead” and “Comic Book Men.” AMC is owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc. and its sister networks include IFC, SundanceTV, BBC America and WE tv. AMC is available across all platforms, including on-air, online, on demand and mobile. AMC: Something More.