Episode One of History's Event Series ROOTS Delivers Over 14 Million Viewers

With available time-shifted viewing data, the premiere episode of HISTORY's event series "ROOTS" was watched by 14.4 million total linear viewers over the course of all premiere week telecasts. That number is expected to rise significantly once non-linear viewership is calculated. The entire series has so far reached 50.6 million viewers across all linear telecasts during the week ending June 5, based on the most current Nielsen data.

"These viewership totals emphasize that today's audiences look to appointment weeks instead of appointment nights when making their viewing decisions," said Nancy Dubuc, President & CEO of A+E Networks. "All of us at A+E Networks are incredibly proud of 'ROOTS' and its critical-acclaim and cultural resonance. Early indicators suggest that 'ROOTS' will enjoy spectacular audience growth once all non-linear viewership becomes available."

On a Live+3 basis, the premiere episode on May 30th at 9pm was watched by 6.9 million total viewers, 2.9 million adults 25-54 and 2.5 million adults 18-49 on the four network simulcast. "ROOTS" delivered an average 6.2 million viewers over the four nights, up 29% from the Live+Same Day results (4.8 million).

The four-night, eight-hour event series developed by HISTORY, from A+E Studios, is a historical portrait of American slavery recounting THE JOURNEY of one family and their will to survive and ultimately carry on their legacy despite hardship. The stellar cast includes Academy Award(R) winners Forest Whitaker ("Fiddler") and Anna Paquin ("Nancy Holt"); Academy Award(R) nominee and Emmy Award(R) winner Laurence Fishburne ("Alex Haley"); Golden Globe Award(R) winning and Emmy Award(R) nominated actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers ("Tom Lea"); Tony Award(R) winner Anika Noni Rose ("Kizzy"); Grammy Award(R) winner Tip "T.I." Harris ("Cyrus"); Chad L. Coleman ("Mingo"); Emayatzy Corinealdi ("Belle"); Matthew Goode ("Dr. William Waller"); Derek Luke ("Silla Ba Dibba"); Mekhi Phifer ("Jerusalem"); James Purefoy ("John Waller"); Erica Tazel ("Matilda") and introduces Regé-Jean Page ("Chicken George") and Malachi Kirby ("Kunta Kinte").

"Roots" is an A+E Studios production in association with Marc Toberoff and The Wolper Organization, the company that produced the original "Roots." Will Packer, Marc Toberoff, Mark Wolper, Lawrence Konner, Mark Rosenthal and Barry Jossen serve as executive producers. LeVar Burton and Korin D. Huggins are co-executive producers. Questlove is executive music producer. "Roots" is directed by Phillip Noyce, Mario Van Peebles, Thomas Carter and Bruce Beresford. Arturo Interian and Michael Stiller serve as Executives in Charge of Production for HISTORY. A+E Networks handles international distribution for "Roots."

About HISTORY(R) HISTORY(R), now reaching more than 96 million homes, is the leading destination for award-winning series and specials that connect viewers with history in an informative, immersive and entertaining manner across all platforms. The network's all-original programming slate features a roster of signature series including "Pawn Stars," "American Pickers," "The Curse of Oak Island," "Alone" as well as the hit drama series "Vikings." The HISTORY website is located at history.com. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/history and Facebook at facebook.com/history.

About A+E Studios A+E Studios is the studio unit of the award-winning global media company A+E Networks, LLC. A+E Studios creates, produces and distributes high quality scripted programming across all networks and platforms in the A+E Networks portfolio, including A&E(R) Network, Lifetime(R), History(R), LMN(R), FYI(TM), H2(R) and A&E IndieFilms(R). A+E Studios' slate of programming consists of scripted series, event series and movies, including the upcoming event miniseries Roots for HISTORY, A&E and Lifetime, UNREAL for Lifetime and Sons of Liberty(TM) and HOUDINI for HISTORY.

Image courtesy of History