MGM's 'Stargate Universe' Ratings Blast Off
Mon Oct 12, 2009
New Installment of Fan Franchise Favorite Scores Impressive Ratings in U.S., UK, Australia and Canada, While Attracting a Whole New Generation of Young Fans
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Edgier in tone and sporting a versatile and high profile cast, MGM's hour-long, sci-fi series Stargate Universe (SGU) is on the fast track to becoming the most successful installment in Stargate franchise history. Reporting impressive debuts in the U.S., the UK, Canada and Australia, SGU is attracting a large number of younger viewers and proving that a new generation of fans is embracing the next era of Stargate.
"With this success, SGU continues to be a very important franchise in the MGM family along with James Bond, Pink Panther, The Hobbit and Rocky," said Gary Marenzi, Co-President, MGM Worldwide Television. "We anticipate global success for the series as SGU continues its roll out around the world and we are thrilled that younger audiences worldwide are discovering and embracing our very addictive series."
"Many of our characters are younger, inexperienced and should not be on this mission," added Brad Wright, co-creator of SGU. "This opens the door to relationships and storylines that younger audiences want to see."
SGU debuted in the U.S. on Syfy to the best franchise premiere performance in four years, drawing more than 2.3 million viewers. The series grabbed 2.35 million total viewers with 1.32 million Adults 25-54, and 1.12 million Adults 18-49 during its two-hour debut.
In Canada, SGU premiered on SPACE with a record breaking audience of 565,000 making it SPACE's highest rated single episode ever. SGU was the #1 non-sports specialty program of the day for Adults 25-54 and A18-49. SPACE is the Canadian English language cable television specialty channel owned and operated by CTVglobemedia.
Launching on Sky1 in the UK, SGU delivered 1,042,000 viewers for episode one and 961,000 for episode two, earning the series the biggest "Stargate" audience in almost five years.
In Australia, SGU was the best performing show on the Sci-Fi pay television platform, posting a 6.4% share. This performance represented an increase of 411% in the time slot (Fridays 8:30 to 10:30 p.m.) versus the previous programming of the last four weeks. SGU is well on its way of being one of the highest rated shows for the week on pay television in Australia...
