ANIMAL PLANET’S CALL OF THE WILDMAN AND GATOR BOYS SET RECORD HIGHS OVER THE WEEKEND
Both Series Break 1.5 Million, Making Sunday’s Episodes the Most-Watched Ever
July 10, 2012
(July 10, 2012, Silver Spring, Md.) - This Sunday, Animal Planet's swampy series, CALL OF THE WILDMAN and GATOR BOYS, achieved record highs as both programs earned their most-watched episodes ever across key demos, drawing in 1.6 million and 1.5 million P2+ viewers, respectively.
The July 8th episode of CALL OF THE WILDMAN, titled "Baby Mama Drama," delivered 1.6M P2+ viewers, 1.1M HH, 679K P18-49 and 406K M18-49. CALL OF THE WILDMAN helped Animal Planet rank among the top 5 ad-supported cable networks in the timeslot based on M18-49 delivery (excluding movies or sports). Overall, the eight 2Q12 CALL OF THE WILDMAN premieres to date are topping 4Q11 delivery levels across all key demos by 40 percent or more, including P2+ (+42%, 1.1M), HH (+40%, 756K), P25-54 (+54%, 540K), P18-49 (+47%, 464K), M18-49 (+46%, 265K) and W25-54 (+62%, 238K).
The same night, the GATOR BOYS episode, titled "Love at First Bite," delivered 1.5M P2+ viewers, 1M HH, 597K P18-49, 562K P25-54 and 348K M18-49. The four recent premieres of GATOR BOYS are exceeding 1Q12 delivery levels across all key demos by more than 20 percent, including P2+ (30%, 1.1M), HH (+24%, 773K), P25-54 (+25%, 501K), P18-49 (+25%, 467K), M18-49 (+34%, 268K) and W25-54 (+25%, 216K).
CALL OF THE WILDMAN features the bare-handed, backwoods animal-trapping skills of "Turtleman" Ernie Brown, Jr. For the past three decades, Turtleman has been diving into Kentucky's murkiest ponds in search of feisty snapping turtles, capable of biting through bone. Accompanied by his canine companion, Lolly, and armed with country wits as sharp as the steel blade he carries, aptly named "Thunder," Turtleman has the uncanny ability to catch monster- snapping turtles with his bare hands and return them into the wild unscathed.
Follow the death-defying exploits of the GATOR BOYS Paul Bedard and Jimmy Riffle - two extraordinary alligator trappers who risk life and limb to hand capture nuisance alligators that have invaded the back yards, swimming pools, garages and bedrooms of Florida Everglades residents. The GATOR BOYS face ferocious alligators with the goal of capturing and relocating the animals out of harm's way before they are killed by trappers who aim to make a profit from their skins and meat.
Animal Planet Media (APM), a multi-media business unit of Discovery Communications, is the world's only entertainment brand that immerses viewers in the full range of life in the animal kingdom with rich, deep content via multiple platforms and offers animal lovers and pet owners access to a centralized online, television and mobile community for immersive, engaging, high-quality entertainment, information and enrichment. APM consists of the Animal Planet television network, available in more than 96 million homes in the US; online assets www.animalplanet.com, the ultimate online destination for all things animal; the 24/7 broadband channel, Animal Planet Beyond; Petfinder.com, the #1 pet-related Web property globally that facilitates pet adoption; and other media platforms including a robust Video-on-Demand (VOD) service; mobile content; and merchandising extensions.