Original Version of TheManchurian Candidate Highest- Rated Show in Public Television’s Primetime Week of July 10-25

PRESS RELEASE


(August 4, 2004 Boston, Mass.) – American Public Television today announced that the original version of the film THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE is drawing an impressive audience on public televison while the remake of the film is having commercial success in theaters. According to projected weekend sales provided by the Associated Press, the 2004 remake has made just over $20 million in its first week. The 1962 original, which features Frank Sinatra, Lawrence Harvey, Janet Leigh and Angela Lansbury, aired Saturday, July 24 at 8:00 PM on KQED/San Francisco and earned a 5.7 household rating and an 11 share, public television’s best rating of the day. It also aired on KCTS, at 10:00 PM on Friday, July 30 and earned a 3.2 rating and a 7 share.

“All the buzz around the new film helped the original,” said Scott Dwyer, KQED’s program manager. “Timing around the national convention, the release of the new Denzel Washington remake of the film, and the fact that the original is a classic were the reasons for the success,” added Eric Maki, program manager of KCTS.

KQED and KCTS are not the only stations having success with this film. During the week of July 19 to July 25, THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE aired in 9 markets and averaged a 3.05 rating and a 5 share across primary stations, making it the highest-rated show of the week in primetime on a public station.

THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE also did well the following week of July 26 to August 1, with 10 primary station broadcasts, a 2.67 average rating and a 5 share. The Saturday, July 31, 8:00 PM broadcast on KTCA/Minneapolis-St. Paul earned public television’s highest rating of that day with a 4.4 rating and a 10 share.

THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE was the week’s top-rated program after the highly successful coverage of the Democratic National Convention. In fact, if the DNC broadcasts are averaged together, THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE tops them as highest-rated program of these two weeks, when it was aired 19 times by 16 primary stations.

An unusually tense and intelligent political thriller, THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE is a film far ahead of its time. Its themes of thought control, political assassination, and multinational conspiracy were hardly common currency in 1962. While its outlook is sometimes informed by Cold War paranoia, the film seems as timely now as it did on its original release. THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE debuted July 1, 2004 and is part of American Public Television’s Warner/Turner/MGM Classic Film Collection. For more information about carriage and ratings for The Manchurian Candidate, e-mail Donna_Hardwick@APTonline.org.

* All ratings data provided by Nielsen Media Research and processed by PubTV.

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For 41 years, American Public Television (APT) has been a prime source of programming for the nation's public television stations. APT has more than 10,000 hours of available programming including Discovering the Real World of Harry Potter, Globe Trekker, Muhammad Ali: Through the Eyes of the World, Rick Steves' Europe, Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home, Ballykissangel, Brian Jacques' Redwall and The Three Tenors Christmas. APT is known for identifying innovative programs and developing creative distribution techniques for producers. In four decades, it has established a tradition of providing public television stations nationwide with program choices that enable them to strengthen and customize their schedules. Press should contact Donna Hardwick at 617-338-4455 ext. 129 or via email to donna_hardwick@APTonline.org. For more information about APT's programs and services, log on to www.APTonline.org.