TORONTO, Sept. 24 /CNW/ - Astral Media announced today that its premium television services Super Ecran, The Movie Network, and Family Channel have each experienced tremendous audience growth during the 2002/2003 broadcast year. Among overall audiences aged 2+, Super Ecran took the top spot in viewership share as the No. 1 pay or specialty service in Quebec, The Movie Network ranked as the No. 3 Canadian pay or specialty service in Eastern Canada and Family Channel was the No. 3 rated Canadian pay or specialty service nationally.
"The Movie Network, Super Ecran and Family provide exclusive, commercial- free programming that viewers just can't find anywhere else," said John Riley, President, Astral Television Networks. "Our exclusive, top-quality programming is driving the audience growth we experienced this year. That we achieved these high-ranking audience shares despite the fact that The Movie Network and Super Ecran are true discretionary services that do not receive the benefit of being widely distributed on basic or near-basic packages, like many other Canadian specialties, illustrates that our services are truly satisfying viewers. We're aiming to build on these results to take an even greater share of the market this year."
Super Ecran, a French pay service, took the top spot as the No. 1 pay or specialty service in Quebec among all audiences aged 2+, with a share of 4.8% for the broadcast year. Buoyed by original series such as Napoleon, variety shows and Quebec-based comedy programming, the premium service experienced a 37% increase in overall viewership and also finished the year in 1st place among adults 18-34 and 35-49.
The Movie Network achieved a 2.6% viewership share among all audiences aged 2+ to become the No. 3 Canadian pay or specialty service in Eastern Canada. Propelled by critically-acclaimed original series such as HBO's Six Feet Under and The Sopranos, the network grew 44% among all audiences 2+ and also finished the year as the No. 1 rated Canadian pay or specialty service among adults 18-34 and 35-49.
Family Channel finished the year as the 3rd highest rated Canadian national pay and specialty service with a 1.8% share of total audiences aged 2+. Featuring hit Disney series such as Lizzie McGuire and That's So Raven and original Canadian series like Henry's World, the family entertainment service experienced a significant 74% increase of viewership among teens 12-17, finishing the broadcast year as the No. 2 Canadian pay or specialty service with teens.
Source for all ratings data: Nielsen Media Research surveys for the period of September 3, 2001 to September 1, 2002 and September 2, 2002 to August 31, 2003.
The Movie Network, Mpix and Mpix2 are owned and operated by Astral Media -- Eastern Canada's premier station for the best in English-language movies, exclusive series, original programming, and one-of-a-kind special presentations from Canada and abroad on seven 24-hour pay-television multiplex channels. For more information, please visit www.themovienetwork.ca/www.mpix.ca.
Super Ecran is North-America's only French-language pay-television network offering first-run movies, exclusive series and variety shows on four 24-hour channels, uncut and commercial free. Super Ecran is an Astral Media pay-television network.
Family Channel is a premium, commercial-free network offering the best in family television entertainment in more than 4.5 million homes across Canada. Dedicated to celebrating family life and providing a fun experience for all, Family airs a unique mix of series, movies and specials, with a large portion of programming supplied by Disney. A Canadian company, Family is an Astral Media Inc. network. Visit us at family.ca.
Astral Media is a leading Canadian media company active in specialty, pay and pay-per-view television, radio, outdoor advertising and e-business. The shares of Astral Media Inc. trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbols: ACM.A/ACM.B.
/For further information: Denyse Gagnon, Super Ecran, (514) 939-5090, dgagnon(at)tele.astral.com; Grace Park, The Movie Network, (416) 956-8638, gpark(at)tv.astral.com; Katie Wolfgang, Family Channel, (416) 956-8584, kwolfgang(at)tv.astral.com/
