National Geographic boasted substantial viewership of the channel’s first factual drama Killing Lincoln that premiered Sunday, Feb. 17 at 8 p.m. ET. The show, which captured a 2.6 HH rating and 1.1 P25-54, was the highest in National Geographic’s history and is tied for the second highest in HH history. Killing Lincoln averaged 3.4 million viewers over the two-hour premiere, the highest rated since the channel’s original feature SEAL Team Six: The Raid on Osama bin Laden.
“Killing Lincoln was our latest effort to expand the original programming we present on the National Geographic Channel, while still maintaining the brand values viewers expect from us,” said Howard T. Owens, President, National Geographic Channels.
“Lincoln is clearly enjoying a resurgence in the national zeitgeist, and this demonstrates once again that our viewers are hungry for entertaining, culturally relevant programming,” added David Lyle, CEO National Geographic Channels.
Killing Lincoln was narrated on camera by Oscar-winner Tom Hanks, with Billy Campbell (The Killing, Once and Again) as Lincoln and Jesse Johnson in a breakthrough performance as John Wilkes Booth.
Sources: Nielsen Media & National Geographic Channel
