Animal Planet Scores "SURPRISINGLY HUMAN" Viewership During Second Quarter

Animal Planet logged record-setting viewership in 2Q10.

Just as Animal Planet's new brand ethos "Surprisingly Human" was unveiled this spring and reflected the strength of returning series RIVER MONSTERS and WHALE WARS, Animal Planet logged record-setting viewership in 2Q10.

Delivery highlights include:
2Q10 vs. 2Q09
HH +8% (470K vs. 436K)
P2+ +10% (623K vs. 567K)
P25-54 +10% (280K vs. 255K)
P18-49 +9% (269K vs. 247K)
W25-54 +12% (134K vs. 120K)
M25-54 +8% (146K vs. 135K)
W18-49 +9% (127K vs. 117K)

Animal Planet also had its best-ever second quarter prime delivery among P25-54 (280K), P18-49 (269K) and M25-54 (146K).  The network produced 10 straight quarters of year-ago prime delivery gains among P18-49 (269K) and seven consecutive quarters among P25-45 (280K), M25-54 (146K) and W25-54 (134K).

RIVER MONSTERS remained Animal Planet's top-performing series ever among all demos, with all seven season two episodes delivering more than 1.5M P2+ viewers..  In May 2010, the mystery series hosted by biologist and extreme angler Jeremy Wade helped Animal Planet rank among the top 5 performing ad-supported cable networks in the Sunday 10 PM timeslot (excluding movies and sports) based on P25-54 and M25-54 delivery.

WHALE WARS and the adventures of Paul Watson and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society remained Animal Planet's second best-performing series ever among all demos, with the first four episodes of season three delivering more than 1.1M P2+ viewers, up 7% compared to season two.  In June 2010, the series helped the network rank among the top 5 performing ad-supported cable networks in the Friday 9 PM timeslot (excluding movies and sports) based on P25-54, P18-49 and M25-54 delivery.  The most recent premiere, "Stealth Attack" on June 27, is the second most-watched episode ever, with more than 1.3M P2+ viewers, trailing just behind last year's season two finale.