L-R: Alex Horwitz, director, HAMILTON'S AMERICA; Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator, Hamilton; Ron Chernow, biographer, Alexander Hamilton. Credit: Stephanie Berger
Acclaimed Documentary Garners Additional 540,000 Streams on PBS Digital Platforms, Plus 640,000 Streams Via Facebook Live
HAMILTON’S AMERICA the #1 Most Social Program on the Day of Its Premiere
ARLINGTON, VA; OCTOBER 26, 2016 – PBS and WNET announced that the October 21 premiere of HAMILTON’S AMERICA, the kick-off program for the 2016 PBS Arts Fall Festival, was seen by more than 3.6 million television viewers between its premiere on Friday, October 21 and Sunday, October 23 (Nielsen Weekend Fast National, Live+SD data). Friday night’s viewership (2.4 million average audience, 1.6 household rating) was 136 percent percent above the PBS program average for 9:00 p.m. Friday premieres over the past year (Nielsen Fast National Live +Same Day).
“On Friday night, excited Hamilton fans across the country gathered together to watch a film about how this incredible piece of art came to be,” said Beth Hoppe, Chief Programming Executive and General Manager, General Audience Programming, PBS. “The success of this documentary is a reflection of the tremendous collaboration between the teams at WNET, GREAT PERFORMANCES, RadicalMedia, PBS and our member stations, who worked together to ensure that viewers of all ages could enjoy this film across all media platforms. We are especially grateful to Lin-Manuel Miranda, who has championed PBS and provided great support to our teams during this process—even live tweeting during the premiere!”
“We are delighted by the tremendous viewership success of Hamilton’s America,” said Neal Shapiro, President and CEO of WNET New York Public Media. “We are honored to have brought the fascinating story of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s creative process to public television on our performing arts series GREAT PERFORMANCES, providing viewers with an inspiring and exclusive look at this groundbreaking production in American musical theater.”
HAMILTON’S AMERICA was also simulcast live on the GREAT PERFORMANCES Facebook page, alongside the television broadcast with more than 640,000 streams over the weekend. Friday evening, 165,000 unique people generated 301,000 interactions about HAMILTON’S AMERICA across Facebook and Twitter on both the PBS and GREAT PERFORMANCES platforms. Overall, the film was the #1 most social program of the day on Friday, October 21 (Source: Nielsen Social Content Ratings, 10/21 Episodes ranked on Total Interactions).
HAMILTON’S AMERICA saw 540,000 streams across all PBS digital platforms Friday to Sunday, ranking it as one of the most streamed documentaries on PBS this year. HAMILTON’S AMERICA will be available to stream for free through November 18 on PBS.org, via the PBS apps for iOS and Android devices and via station-branded digital platforms including Roku, AppleTV, Amazon Fire TV and Chromecast. Over the past month the GREAT PERFORMANCES website, with a special page for HAMILTON’S AMERICA, has received 760,000 unique visitors since September 25, 2016. There, visitors can learn more about the documentary, watch exclusive clips and obtain media-rich resources for classroom instruction about Alexander Hamilton.
To engage enthusiastic viewers in the premiere, local PBS stations held more than 50 preview screenings for HAMILTON’S AMERICA and other PBS Arts Fall Festival titles. These screening events allowed member stations to extend the excitement of the series through communities across the country.
Produced by Academy Award® and Emmy Award®-winning producers RadicalMedia (What Happened, Miss Simone?, Keith Richards:Under The Influence, In the Heights: Chasing Broadway Dreams for PBS) and directed by Alex Horwitz, HAMILTON’S AMERICA delves even deeper into the creation of the show, revealing Miranda’s process of absorbing and then adapting Hamilton’s epic story into groundbreaking musical theater. Further fleshing out the story is newly shot footage of the New York production with its original cast, trips to historic locations such as Mt. Vernon and Valley Forge with Miranda and other cast members, and a surprising range of interviews with prominent personalities, experts, politicians, and musicians including President Barack Obama, President George W. Bush. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Secretary Hank Paulson, Secretary Timothy Geithner, Questlove, Black Thought, Jimmy Fallon, John Weidman, Nas and Stephen Sondheim.
HAMILTON’S AMERICA is directed by Alex Horwitz and produced by Nicole Pusateri, with Executive Producers Jon Kamen, Justin Wilkes, and Dave Sirulnick for RadicalMedia. Jeffrey Seller and Lin-Manuel Miranda also serve as executive producers. For GREAT PERFORMANCES, Bill O’Donnell is series producer; David Horn is executive producer.
About the PBS Arts Fall Festival
PBS premiered its sixth annual PBS Arts Fall Festival on Friday, October 21, with host Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator and star of the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical Hamilton. The PBS Arts Fall Festival, which last year reached more than nine million viewers, is a cornerstone of the Friday primetime lineup, underscoring PBS’ ongoing commitment to give audiences the best seats in the house to watch arts performances on air and online. The festival presents diverse artists and performances from across the country, including programs from GREAT PERFORMANCES, LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER and more. Most programs will be available online at http://video.pbs.org/ after their broadcast premiere. For more, visit http://pressroom.pbs.org/
About WNET
WNET is America’s flagship PBS station and parent company of THIRTEEN and WLIW21. WNET also operates NJTV, the statewide public media network in New Jersey. Through its broadcast channels, three cable services (KidsThirteen, Create and World) and online streaming sites, WNET brings quality arts, education and public affairs programming to more than five million viewers each week. WNET produces and presents such acclaimed PBS series as Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, PBS NewsHour Weekend, Charlie Rose and a range of documentaries, children’s programs, and local news and cultural offerings. WNET’s groundbreaking series for children and young adults include Get the Math, Oh Noah! and Cyberchase as well as Mission US, the award-winning interactive history game. WNET highlights the tri-state’s unique culture and diverse communities through NYC-ARTS, Reel 13, NJTV News with Mary Alice Williams and MetroFocus, the daily multi-platform news magazine focusing on the New York region. In addition, WNET produces online-only programming including the award-winning series about gender identity, First Person, and an intergenerational look at tech and pop culture, The Chatterbox with Kevin and Grandma Lill. In 2015, THIRTEEN launched Passport, an online streaming service which allows members to see new and archival THIRTEEN and PBS programming anytime, anywhere: www.thirteen.org/passport.
About PBS
PBS, with nearly 350 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and online content. Each month, PBS reaches nearly 100 million people through television and nearly 33 million people online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; to hear diverse viewpoints; and to take front row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS’ broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry’s most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. PBS’ premier children’s TV programming and its website, pbskids.org, are parents’ and teachers’ most trusted partners in inspiring and nurturing curiosity and love of learning in children. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the Internet, or by following PBS on Twitter, Facebook or through our apps for mobile devices. Specific program information and updates for press are available at pbs.org/pressroom or by following PBS Pressroom on Twitter.
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CONTACTS:
Jennifer Rankin Byrne, PBS, Tel: 703-739-5487; jrbyrne@pbs.org
Harry Forbes, WNET, Tel: 212-560-8027; ForbesH@wnet.org
For images and additional up-to-date information on this and other PBS programs, visit PBS PressRoom at pbs.org/pressroom.