National Geographic Channel's KILLING LINCOLN Sets Record Ratings With 2.6 HH, 1.1 P25-54; Special Scores Highest Total Viewership In NGC History

3.4 Million People Tune in to NGC's First Original Factual Drama

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- National Geographic Channel's Sunday night premiere of KILLING LINCOLN – the network's first original factual drama – proved to be the perfect way to honor President's Day Weekend with stellar ratings that averaged a whopping 2.6 HH rating – tied for the second highest HH in network history – and a 1.1 P25–54 on Sunday, February 17, at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

KILLING LINCOLN also averaged 3.4 million persons 2+ over the entire two-hour premiere, the highest total viewership in NGC's history!

Furthermore, the 1.1 P25–54 is the highest rated P25-54 since the premiere of SEAL Team Six: The Raid on Osama bin Laden in November 2012 (1.4 P25-54), and is more than 175% higher than NGC's Sunday 8–10 p.m average so far this year (.4 P25–54). 

KILLING LINCOLN encores this Saturday, February 23, at 7 p.m. ET/PT and 9 p.m. ET/PT.

The film, hailed by critics as "fascinating," "heart-pounding" and "constantly illuminating," was narrated on camera by Oscar^®-winning actor Tom Hanks, with Billy Campbell ("The Killing," "Once and Again") as Lincoln and Jesse Johnson in a breakthrough performance as John Wilkes Booth.  Produced by Ridley and Tony Scott's Scott Free Productions, the film adapts Bill O'Reilly's best-selling book into a two-hour global television event.  Additional cast includes Geraldine Hughes as Mary Todd Lincoln, Graham Beckel as Edwin Stanton, who served as secretary of war under the Lincoln administration, and Shawn Pyfrom as Private John W. Nichols.  Shot on location in and around Richmond, Va., Killing Lincoln is directed by director Adrian Moat ("Gettysburg"), written by Emmy Award-winning writer/executive producer Erik Jendresen ("Band of Brothers") and produced by Mark Herzog's Herzog & Co. ("Gettysburg").

"Killing Lincoln was our latest effort to expand the original programming we present on the National Geographic Channel, while still maintaining the brand values viewers expect from us," said Howard T. Owens, President, National Geographic Channels. "The success we saw last night proved that authentic and entertaining are not mutually exclusive, and I think we've tapped into a new genre of factual drama that clearly resonates with our audience.  Our record ratings would not have been possible without our partnership with Bill O'Reilly, Scott Free Productions and the incredible team that worked on this production."

"Howard walked into the office on his first day with this book in his hand, and 16 months later to have this success is a true testament to his vision and drive to make this work for our network," added David Lyle, CEO National Geographic Channels.  "Lincoln is clearly enjoying a resurgence in the national zeitgeist, and this demonstrates once again that our viewers are hungry for entertaining, culturally relevant programming."

"David, Howard and the entire team at National Geographic Channel believed in this project since day one, and were incredibly passionate to make this film work on all levels," said Ridley Scott.  "We could not be more pleased that viewers responded in this way, and look forward to raising the bar even higher with our next collaboration, Killing Kennedy."

The network used the premiere last night to heavily promote tonight's six-part event Inside Combat Rescue, and tease this spring's Brain Games.

Executive producers are Tony Scott and Ridley Scott, as well as David W. Zucker, Mary Lisio, Mark Herzog, Erik Jendresen and Bill O'Reilly.  Directed by Adrian Moat. Written by Erik Jendresen.  Based on the book by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard.  Produced by Christopher G. Cowen and Adrian Moat.  Line producer is Larry Rapaport.  Narrated by Tom Hanks.  Billy Campbell stars as Abraham Lincoln, Jesse Johnson as John Wilkes Booth.  Geraldine Hughes stars as Mary Todd Lincoln, Graham Beckel as Edwin Stanton and Shawn Pyfrom as Private John W. Nichols.  For National Geographic Channel, executive producers are Howard T. Owens, Charlie Parsons, Teri Weinberg and Richard E. Wells.

For more information, visit www.natgeotv.com/killinglincoln.

Source: Nielsen Media Fast National Rating, Sunday 8:00 PM–10:00 PM, Live+SD.
Reach figures are for a single telecast cume based on six-minute qualifier.

About National Geographic Channel
Based at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C., the National Geographic Channels US are a joint venture between National Geographic and Fox Cable Networks.  The Channels contribute to the National Geographic Society's commitment to exploration, conservation and education with smart, innovative programming and profits that directly support its mission.  Launched in January 2001, National Geographic Channel (NGC) celebrated its fifth anniversary with the debut of NGC HD.  In 2010, the wildlife and natural history cable channel Nat Geo WILD was launched, and in 2011, the Spanish-language network Nat Geo Mundo was unveiled.  The Channels have carriage with all of the nation's major cable, telco and satellite television providers, with NGC currently available in 84 million U.S. homes.  Globally, National Geographic Channel is available in 440 million homes in 171 countries and 38 languages.  For more information, visit www.natgeotv.com.

About Scott Free Productions
Scott Free Productions was formed in 1995 and is the film and television production vehicle of acclaimed film directors: brothers Ridley and Tony Scott. Scott Free Television produces the Emmy® and Golden Globe®-nominated, Peabody acclaimed drama, The Good Wife for CBS which is currently enjoying its fourth season, and the eight-hour adaptation of

World Without End, Ken Follett's international best-seller featuring Cynthia Nixon, Ben Chaplin and Miranda Richardson on Reelz. Scott Free also produced the recent four-hour adaptation of Robin Cook's Coma for A&E, starring Lauren Ambrose, Geena Davis, James Woods, Richard Dreyfuss and Ellen Burstyn, the Emmy® and Golden Globe®-nominated mini-series The Pillars of The Earth for Starz, the hit CBS show NUMB3RS, which ran for six seasons, the Emmy®-nominated mini-series The Andromeda Strain, starring Benjamin Bratt and Viola Davis, also for A&E, as well as the Golden Globe® nominated The Company for TNT featuring Michael Keaton and Alfred Molina.

Upcoming is the film event Reykjavik, set to shoot next year starring Michael Douglas as Ronald Reagan and Christoph Waltz as Mikhail Gorbachev, about the now famous meeting between the two leaders that signaled the end of the Cold War, and also an adaptation of Philip K. Dick's THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE. New projects in television development include Girls With Guns, written by The Good Wife creators Robert and Michelle King, the 24 Hours at Le Mans drama, Drivers, from Michael Hirst (The Tudors), as well as new drama projects from Barbara Hall (Judging Amy) and Glenn Gordon Caron (Medium).

In addition to scripted fare, Scott Free has firmly established its nonfiction presence by producing the epic Emmy®-winning documentary Gettysburg for History Channel, and Killing Lincoln for National Geographic Channel.

Scott Free Films most recently released Ridley Scott's visionary epic Prometheus to worldwide acclaim, starring Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender and Charlize Theron as well as the international hits The Grey, Tony Scott's Unstoppable, and the YouTube backed sensation Life in a Day. Next for Scott Free is Stoker, the English language debut of Park Chan Wook (Old Boy) at Fox Searchlight, starring Nicole Kidman, Mia Wasikowska and Matthew Goode, The East by director Zal Batmanglij starring Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgard, and Ellen Page also for Searchlight, Out of the Furnace at Relativity, written and directed by Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart) starring Christian Bale, Woody Harrelson, and Forest Whitaker, and The Counselor at Fox, which Ridley Scott is currently directing from Cormac McCarthy's script, starring Michael Fassbender, Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt, Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem.

Scott Free has offices in Los Angeles and London in conjunction with RSA Films, one of the world's largest and most successful commercial production houses.

SOURCE National Geographic Channel