Cartoon Network Prime Time Charts Double-Digit Gains Across All Kids Demos

Network Claims Top Three Programs of the Week on All Television Among Boys 6-11; Top Two Among Boys 9-14

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Leads Cartoon Network to #1 Ranking on Friday Night from 7-10 p.m. Among Boys 2-11, 6-11 and 9-14

Across a highly competitive week for boys’ viewership, Cartoon Network ranked #1 among basic cable networks for prime time delivery of boys 6-11 and 9-14, according to preliminary data from Nielsen Media Research. Fueled by stellar performances from two new episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Friday, 9 and 9:30 p.m.) and the network premiere of Pokémon 11: Giratina & The Sky Warrior (Friday, 7-9 p.m.), Cartoon Network’s overall prime time delivery of key kids demos across the week increased between 27% and 35%, compared to the same time period in 2008.

With triple-digit ratings and delivery gains compared to last year, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (9 p.m.) was the #1 program of the week on all television—broadcast and cable—among boys 6-11 and the #2 program of the week among boys 9-14. A second new episode at 9:30 p.m. proved the #1 program of the week on all television among boys 9-14 and the #2 program of the week among boys 6-11. Together with Pokémon 11: Giratina & The Sky Warrior, the programming led Cartoon Network to the #1 ranking on Friday night among all basic cable networks from 7-10 p.m. for average delivery of boys 2-11, boys 6-11 and boys 9-14.

Additional prime time programming stand-outs for Cartoon Network included the HAR HAR THARSDAYS comedy franchise (Thursday, 7-10 p.m.) which scored 10% delivery increases among kids 2-11 (949,000), 15% delivery increases among kids 6-11 (713,000) and 64% delivery increases among kids 9-14 (584,000). The original comedy series Chowder (8 p.m.) earned particularly strong double-digit growth across the board, including 12% delivery gains among kids 2-11 (1,082,000), 25% delivery gains among kids 6-11 (828,000) and 97% delivery gains among kids 9-14 (706,000).

Highlights of Cartoon Network’s prime time performance last week compared to the same time period in 2008 include the following:

WEEKLY PRIME TIME (Monday-Sunday, 8 to 10 p.m.) vs. the same time period in 2008

• Kids 2-11 delivery (904,000) grew by 27%, and ratings (2.2) by 22%
• Kids 6-11 delivery (678,000) grew by 35%, and ratings (2.8) by 33%
• Kids 9-14 delivery (534,000) grew by 33%, and ratings (2.2) by 38%

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Friday, Feb. 13, 9 p.m.) vs. the same time period in 2008

• Kids 2-11 delivery (1,483,000) grew by 207%, and ratings (3.6) by 200%
• Kids 6-11 delivery (1,163,000) grew by 237%, and ratings (4.8) by 243%
• Kids 9-14 delivery (969,000) grew by 281%, and ratings (4.0) by 300%

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Friday, Feb. 13, 9:30 p.m.) vs. the same time period in 2008

• Kids 2-11 delivery (1,341,000) grew by 119%, and ratings (3.3) by 120%
• Kids 6-11 delivery (1,092,000) grew by 162%, and ratings (4.5) by 165%
• Kids 9-14 delivery (998,000) grew by 235%, and ratings (4.1) by 242%

Cartoon Network (CartoonNetwork.com), currently seen in more than 97 million U.S. homes and 166 countries around the world, is Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.’s ad-supported cable service now available in HD offering the best in original, acquired and classic animated entertainment for kids and families. Nightly from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. (ET, PT), Cartoon Network shares its channel space with Adult Swim, a late-night destination showcasing original and acquired animation for young adults 18-34.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.

RATING PERIOD: 2/09/09 – 2/15/09
SOURCE: Turner Entertainment Research from Preliminary Nielsen Media Research data, based on most current data available (Live+SD). Complete and final data (Live+7) will be available in two weeks. These television ratings data are reproduced here with permission from Nielsen Media Research. Reproduction of these data in volume, without permission from Nielsen Media Research, is prohibited.

NOTES: All ratings based on Total U.S. Television Universe of 114,500,000 homes.