USA NETWORK PICKS UP HIT SERIES "BURN NOTICE" AND "PSYCH" FOR NEW SEASONS AFTER RECORD-BREAKING SUMMER
BURN NOTICE #1 Series in 18-49 as PSYCH Sees Double-Digit Growth in Total Viewers
Burn Notice Beats The Closer
NEW YORK, NEW YORK � October 10, 2008 � USA Network has renewed two of its hottest original series � BURN NOTICE for a third season and PSYCH for a fourth season. Both shows have received orders for 16 episodes. They each captured the coveted 18-49 demo over the summer, with BURN NOTICE delivering 2.76 million and PSYCH attracting 2.24 million of that key audience. The announcement was made today by Jeff Wachtel, USA's executive vice president, original programming, USA Network, and co-head, original content, Universal Cable Productions.
"BURN NOTICE and PSYCH are key components of USA's success story," said Wachtel. "PSYCH has some of the best young demos the network has ever seen and continues to surprise audiences with entertaining storylines. BURN NOTICE caught fire right out of the box and just keeps growing. It's one of the best shows on television. Both shows have a huge fan base on-air and online and reflect the high quality of programming that viewers have come to expect from USA."
BURN NOTICE was the #1 scripted series on basic cable in P18-49, besting TNT's The Closer in both 2Q & 3Q of 2008. The first half of the sophomore season of the series ranked second among P25-54 (3.08 million) and total viewers (5.85 million). BURN NOTICE was up this year from 2007, +19% in P18-49, +20% in P25-54 and +23% in total viewers. When BURN NOTICE aired on Thursdays at 10pm, USA averaged more P25-54, P18-49 and P18-34 viewers than ABC and more M25-54, M18-49 and P18-34 than CBS.
PSYCH was the #1 new show of 2006 and the phenomenal ratings have continued ever since. The show delivered 2.52 million in P25-54 (+8% from 3Q07), 2.24 million in P18-49 (+5%) and 5.2 million total viewers (+10%). When it aired PSYCH in 3Q08, USA was the #2 TV network, behind only NBC's Olympics, among P18-49 and P25-54 Fridays at 10P.
BURN NOTICE is a sly take on the spy genre starring Jeffrey Donovan as Michael Westen, a burned operative who finds himself stuck in the tropical paradise of Miami. The series also stars Gabrielle Anwar, Bruce Campbell and Sharon Gless. BURN NOTICE was created, written and executive produced by Matt Nix. Mikkel Bondesen and Jeff Freilich also serve as executive producers. The series comes from Fox Television Studios and Fuse Entertainment.
PSYCH is a breezy comedy about young police consultant Shawn Spencer (James Roday), who solves crimes with powers of observation so acute the precinct detectives think he's psychic � at least that's what he lets them believe. The series also stars Dul� Hill, Corbin Bernsen, Maggie Lawson, Timothy Omundson and Kirsten Nelson. PSYCH is executive produced by Steve Franks, Kelly Kulchack and Chris Henze, in association with Tagline Pictures and Universal Cable Productions. Mel Damski serves as the executive producer and director, Saladin Patterson is the co-executive producer and writer and Josh Bycel is the co-executive producer and writer.
PARTNERSHIPS
For the second season of BURN NOTICE, USA teamed up with Saab USA as a key sponsor of the second season premiere. A Saab nine three convertible was integrated into the show as Fiona's (Gabrielle Anwar) car. Additionally, USA with the help of executive producer and creator Matt Nix, and in conjunction with Omelet, created an online alternate reality experience called "Covert Ops," which launched within the second episode and has delivered 7.6 million page views, 259K uniques and 305K visits per week. Since the launch, "Covert Ops" was the most popular game of all the games on usanetwork.com and CharacterArcade.com in page views. "Covert Ops" was +53% higher in page views than the 2nd most popular game on the site over this time period (July 13 � September 20).
In a first for the channel, USA Network took a new approach to "pod-busting" with the introduction of "The Big Adventures of Little Shawn and Gus," a series of animated vignettes based on PSYCH. Each vignette explores the timeless mysteries of childhood through the characters of young Shawn and Gus plus gives viewers another perspective into the hit series. The animations were created by J.J. Sedelmaier Productions, the studio of renowned animation director and producer, J.J. Sedelmaier ("The Ambiguously Gay Duo", "Beavis & Butt-Head," "Saturday Night Live") and range in length from :50 seconds to two minutes. Alltel Wireless has been the exclusive presenting sponsor of the animated adventures since it premiered last winter, as well as the presenting sponsor of the PSYCH mid-season premiere.
USA NETWORK is cable television's leading provider of original series and feature movies, sports and entertainment events, off-net television shows, and blockbuster theatrical films. The #1 network in basic cable, USA Network is seen in nearly 94 million U.S. homes. The USA Network Web site is located at www.usanetwork.com. Characters Welcome.
USA Network is a program service of NBC Universal Cable a division of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience.
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