Discovery Press Web United States

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(Silver Spring, Md., January 3, 2013) - In 2012, Animal Planet went out with a bang and enters the New Year with a spark as the year-end, two-hour FINDING BIGFOOT premiere, "Australian Yowie," delivered 1.5M P2+ viewers, 37% higher than the season-to-date average.

The network achieved its most-watched year in network history in prime among HH (476K), P25-54 (292K), P18-49 (269K) and M25-54 (157K). Animal Planet also posted its most-watched year ever in total day among P2+ viewers (434K), HH (342K), P25-54 (190K), P18-49 (181K) and M25-54 (95K).

Animal Planet ranks among the top-three, fastest-growing, fully distributed cable networks in 2012 vs. 2011 based on P25-54 and M25-54 deliveries (+17% and +23%, respectively). The network places among the top 20 cable networks for M25-54, up 17 slots from 2008 (#37).

There were many standout performances in 2012 among series, specials and stunts. Eight programs delivered at least 1M P2+ viewers this past year, including RIVER MONSTERS, FINDING BIGFOOT, CALL OF THE WILDMAN, TANKED, MERMAIDS: THE BODY FOUND, GATOR BOYS, TOO CUTE! and MY CAT FROM HELL. Highlights are as follows:

• RIVER MONSTERS remains Animal Planet's top-performing series of all time. The season four premieres delivered 1.5M P2+ viewers, and 1.8M P2+ viewers watched the season four premiere, "American Killers," making it the most-watched debut in network history.

• FINDING BIGFOOT ranks among the network's top-three-performing series of all time among P25-54. Overall, the current season delivered 1.2M P2+ viewers.

• CALL OF THE WILDMAN ranks among the top three Animal Planet series YTD based on P2+ delivery and exceeded its 2011 premiere levels by 54%.

• MERMAIDS: THE BODY FOUND delivered nearly 2M P2+ viewers (1.96M), making it the most-watched Animal Planet telecast since the September 2006. Across the 2012 airings on both Animal Planet and Discovery Channel, MERMAIDS: THE BODY FOUND has drawn in 32M unique P2+ viewers.

• Animal Planet's first-ever MONSTER WEEK programming stunt scored the network its most-watched week since 2003 in prime among P25-54 (406K), M25-54 (234K) and P18-49 (378K). The stunt nabbed Animal Planet its best week in history in total day among P2+ (467K) and P25-54 (214K).

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.