TORONTO – The war over The Kennedys helped draw 889,000 opening night viewers to Canada’s History Television, just shy of a record bow for the cable channel.
During the two-hour premiere on Sunday night, 2.3 million Canadians sampled the controversial mini-series, which drew 335,000 in the key 25-54 demo, according to BBM Canada data.
The Kennedys, which was shot in Toronto, drew a record 1.9 million viewers during a week-earlier stateside bow on Reelzchannel.
In a Canadian market where one million viewers for a new TV show on a conventional TV network is considered a hit, drawing nearly 900,000 viewers for a mini-series on a niche cable channel is a coup for History Television.
Related Stories
The Canadian channel secured its second highest-rated series premiere among total viewers with The Kennedys, behind Ice Road Truckers: Deadliest Roads, which grabbed just over 1 million viewers on Jan. 12, 2011.
Leaving ReelzChannel with a world premiere of The Kennedys on April 3, History Television is to air the mini-series as a four-part TV movie from April 10, at 9 p.m.
Despite the A&E Television Network’s History channel ditching The Kennedys early on, and forcing sub-distribution on ReelzChannel, History Television-parent Shaw Media waited patiently for Canadian producer Muse Entertainment, working in association with Asylum Entertainment, to find a replacement U.S. home for its Camelot-themed mini-series before going ahead with the Canadian launch.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
-
Succession
‘Succession’ Star Brian Cox Reflects on Series After Finale Airs: “The Greatest Work Experience Ever”
![]()
-
![]()
-
Sarah Goldberg
Critic’s Notebook: Bleak Series Finale Brings ‘Barry’ to a Satisfyingly Unsatisfying Close
![]()
-
![]()
-
Live Feed
Alex Borstein on Love for Midge in Series Finale and ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s’ Depiction of Imperfect Women
![]()
-
![]()
