NEW YORK, April 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The "TV Land Awards 2011" scored huge, record-breaking numbers for the network, attracting over 2 million viewers for its premiere telecast on Sunday, April 17 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.  This makes it the network's most watched "TV Land Awards" show ever.  The star-studded special, which was held in New York City for the very first time, was the highest rated TV Land Awards show since 2004 across all key demos and posted double-digit gains in rating and delivery over last year's show.  The "TV Land Awards 2011," which honored John Travolta and the cast of "Welcome Back, Kotter," Michael J. Fox and the cast of "Family Ties," Bill Cosby and the cast of "The Cosby Show," the cast of "The Facts of Life," Regis Philbin and music duo Daryl Hall and John Oates, reached nearly 7 million viewers for its premiere night on the network.

The "TV Land Awards" averaged over 2 million viewers, up +20% over last year's show.  Among the network's target Adults 25-54 audience, the special earned a 0.8/856,000, an increase of +19% in rating and +16% in delivery over 2010's telecast.  The special was a hit among Women 25-54, posting a 1.0/503,000, up +32% in rating and +30% in delivery over YAGO.  And among the network's core Adults 40-54 audience, it posted a 1.3/697,000, up +19% in rating and +17% in delivery over 2010's show.

This year's "TV Land Awards" attracted a 48% larger audience to the Awards site section of TVLand.com versus last year, making it the most visited TV Land Awards to date.  Social Media played a role in helping to drive this increase, specifically the TV Land Facebook Fan page which drove users to engage with posts on the page via comments and likes, and ultimately clicking through to TVLand.com for additional content around the TV Land Awards.  Additionally, the photo gallery featuring celebrities on the red carpet at the show was a hit with visitors on the site, with each fan viewing nearly all 50 photos contained within the gallery.

Celebrity icons from television, film and music joined TV Land for the award show, which kicked off with a surprise performance by legendary entertainer Liza Minnelli, who performed her rendition of the classic tune "New York, New York City."  Barbara Walters, Stevie Wonder, Ben Stiller, Jane Lynch, Paul Reiser, Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick and the cast of "The Real Housewives of New York City" joined in on the extravaganza at the Jacob Javits Center to honor: entertainment icon Regis Philbin (Legend Award), platinum recording artists Daryl Hall and John Oates (Music Icon Award), and the beloved casts of "The Cosby Show" (Impact Award), "Family Ties" (Fan Favorite Award), "Welcome Back, Kotter" (35th Anniversary Award) and "The Facts of Life" (Pop Culture Award). 

Michael Levitt ("Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D List," "Ask Oprah's All Stars," "Scream Awards") is executive producer, Glen Weiss is director ("The 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards," "BET Awards," "The 64th Annual Tony Awards"), Greg Sills is supervising producer ("VH1 Rock Honors,"  "The Teen Choice Awards," "Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards") and TV Land's Larry W. Jones and Casey Patterson are executive producers. Tim Bruno is executive in charge of production for TV Land.

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About TV Land

TV Land is the programming destination featuring the best in entertainment on all platforms for consumers in their 40s and 50s. Consisting of original programming, classic and contemporary television series acquisitions, hit movies and a full-service Web site, TV Land is now seen in over 98 million U.S. homes.

About MTV Networks

MTV Networks, a division of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is one of the world's leading creators of entertainment content, with brands that engage and connect diverse audiences across television, online, mobile, games, virtual worlds and consumer products.  The company's portfolio spans more than 150 television channels and 400 digital media properties worldwide, and includes MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Nick Jr., TeenNick, AddictingGames, Shockwave, Neopets, COMEDY CENTRAL, SPIKE, TV Land, Atom, and GameTrailers.  

SOURCE TV Land