American Prime-Time Drama in Western Europe

Twentieth Century Fox Highlights 

Twentieth Century Fox has the most scripted-series from last season returning to the fall 2006 U.S. broadcast schedule than any other studio: "Prison Break" (FOX), "My Name Is Earl" (NBC), "How I Met Your Mother" (CBS), "Bones" (FOX) and "The Unit" (CBS). These series, plus the highly successful franchise, "24", have established programming interest from both clients and viewers throughout Western Europe.

24
After five seasons, "24" continues to intrigue television viewers throughout Western Europe as it airs on major broadcasters in key prime time slots in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and The United Kingdom. For example, "24" remains one of SkyOne's most valued brands as the channel debuted season 5 in February 2006 as a two-hour event (similar to FOX in the U.S.) and was up +12% over the previous season. Antena 3 in Spain utilizes "24"'s unique serialized storytelling-style by airing the series over a 9 week period, and up to three times per evening in Spain's prime (Thursday 10:00PM - 12:00Mid).

Prison Break
Early predictions indicated that "Prison Break" will likely achieve similar success in Western Europe as "24". It has already, or is scheduled to debut in key prime time slots. The show has already achieved success on Channel 5 in the U.K., increasing its time slot viewership by +64%. In Norway, the hit new drama achieved a 49 Share with the younger-skewing audience (Individuals 12-34) and grew viewership in Sweden by +20% among individuals 15-44. Most recently, "Prison Break" debuted on M6 in France and immediately become the channel's #1 series of the year, averaging 5.5 million Total Viewers; also ranks #1 in its time slot among young viewers (under 50).

My Name Is Earl
"My Name Is Earl" appears to have successfully crossed the cultural-comedy- barrier as the new NBC hit has already debuted in three major territories in Western Europe. Airing on Friday nights (10:00PM) on Channel 4 in the U.K., the series delivers 2.3 million viewers and ranks in the top 10 of all U.S. series in the territory.

How I Met Your Mother
"How I Met Your Mother" currently ranks as BBC2's #1 U.S. series.

Bones
In the U.K., "Bones" ranks in the top 5 (#4) of all programming one SkyOne, and is the channels #1 series among Women. Other Western European countries scheduled to debut include: Germany (VOX), Italy (Mediaset) and The Netherlands (RTL).

The Unit
"The Unit" was last season's number #1 new scripted series of all networks in the U.S., delivering over 18 million viewers. Since it had a mid-season debut (March 2006), the series is scheduled to make its first international debut in October 2006 (Bravo in the U.K.)

Prison Break