USA #1 For Record-Setting Fifth Year

USA #1 For Record-Setting Fifth Year

NEW YORK, Dec. 9, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- USA is about to clinch the title as most watched cable network in 2010, extending its streak at #1 to an unprecedented 5 consecutive years among ad-supported networks, for P18-49, P25-54 and total viewers.

With data thru Sunday 12/5, USA delivered more P18-49 (1.23 million, 11% over #2 ESPN), P25-54 (1.33 million, +21% over #2 ESPN), total viewers (3.14 million, +22% over #2 Disney Channel), and households (2.37 million, +27% over #2 Disney Channel) in primetime than any other cable network, as well as earning the year's highest household coverage rating (2.38, +0.50 over #2 Disney Channel). No other network was able to deliver over 3 million total viewers or 2 million households this year.

In 2010, USA continued its tradition of presenting the most successful portfolio of scripted entertainment on ad-supported cable in every demo, delivering at least half of the top ten shows among P18-34, P18-49, P25-54, total viewers, and households.

-- BURN NOTICE and ROYAL PAINS were cable's top two scripted series
Thursday nights across the board, delivering the most P25-54 (Royal
Pains #1 3.50 million / Burn Notice #2 3.26 million), P18-49 (RP #1 3.10
million / BN #2 3.04 million), P18-34 (BN #1 1.39 million / RP #2 1.30
million), total viewers (RP #1 7.33 million / BN #2 6.69 million), and
households (RP #1 5.16 million / BN #2 4.67 million).

-- When USA aired BURN NOTICE Thursdays at 10pm in 1Q and 4Q, it was the #1
network on television, broadcast or cable, in delivering M18-34, while
delivering more P18-34 than CBS and more M18-49, M25-54, and total males
than ABC.

-- Over the summer, BURN NOTICE made USA second only to ABC in all of
television in delivering total viewers, M18-34, M18-49, M25-54, and
total males when it aired Thursdays at 9pm, while outperforming CBS
among P18-34, P18-49, and P25-54.

-- ROYAL PAINS was the only scripted series in basic cable prime to deliver
over 3.5 million P25-54 this summer. Only BURN NOTICE and Lie To Me
delivered more M18-49 (1.40 million) than ROYAL PAINS to an ad-supported
scripted series this summer.

-- When the network aired ROYAL PAINS Thursdays at 10P this summer, USA was
second only to ABC in all of television, broadcast or cable, in the hour
among P18-49 and P25-54; it also bested every network except ABC and MTV
among P18-34.

-- COVERT AFFAIRS was the #1 new series on cable this summer among P18-49
(2.97 million) and the year's top scripted fare Tuesday nights on cable
among P25-54 (3.22 million), P18-49 (2.97 million), total viewers (7.05
million) and households (5.07 million). No other scripted series on
cable delivered over 3 million P25-54, 6 million total viewers, or 4
million households this year on Tuesday nights. Head to head, COVERT
AFFAIRS was second only to NBC in delivering P18-49, P25-54, total
viewers and households when it aired Tuesdays at 10pm over the summer,
while delivering more P18-34 than either ABC or CBS.

-- PSYCH's move to Wednesday nights in 2010 attracted the biggest P18-34
audience ever in the five year history of the series, breaking one
million viewers in the demo for the first time ever (1.12 million) as
well as hitting a series high for a yearly average among M18-49 (1.10
million). When USA aired PSYCH in 2010, more M18-34 came to the network
than any other network on television, broadcast or cable, except for
"South-Park"-driven Comedy Central. PSYCH beat CBS head-to-head among
P18-34 and M18-49 and outperformed ABC in its Wednesday 10pm timeslot
this year among P18-34, P18-49, M25-54 and total males.

-- WHITE COLLAR had a great year as cable's top scripted series in its
Tuesday 9pm timeslot this year. The series averaged 2.41 million in
P25-54, 2.29 million in P18-49, 1.09 million in P18-34, 5.38 million
total viewers and 3.86 million households in 2010. WHITE COLLAR
returned in the summer to one of the season's most competitive timeslots
but outperformed ABC and CBS head-to-head Tuesdays at 9pm in delivering
P18-34, beating CBS among P18-49 and M25-54 and ABC in total viewers and
F25-54.

-- WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW made USA the #1 entertainment network on cable
Mondays 9-11pm in 2010 among P18-34, P18-49, P25-54, total viewers and
households, coming in second only to FOX among all entertainment
networks, broadcast or cable, in delivering M18-34 and outperforming ABC
in its timeslot among M18-49 and M25-54. RAW was the most watched
series airing weekly throughout 2010, averaging 2.44 million in P25-54,
2.47 million in P18-49, 1.14 million in P18-34, 5.08 million total
viewers and 3.47 million households for the year.

USA Network is the #1 network in all of basic cable and is seen in over 98.5 million U.S. homes. A division of NBC Universal, USA is the cable television leader in original series and home to the best in blockbuster theatrical films, acquired television series and entertainment events. The award-winning USA website is located at www.usanetwork.com. Characters Welcome.

USA Network is a program service of NBC Universal Cable a division of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience.

SOURCE USA Network

USA Network

CONTACT: Brad Bernstein, +1-212-664-4401, brad.bernstein@nbcuni.com, or Kristin Schulman, +1-212-664-4140, kristin.schulman@nbcuni.com, or Andrea Epstein, +1-818-777-6679, andrea.esptein@nbcuni.com

Web Site: http://www.usanetwork.com

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