Nielsen Media Research reports that the HBO television network experienced significant ratings increases, compared to 2008, with the premiere episode of "Hard Knocks '09: Training Camp with the Cincinnati Bengals."
The Aug. 12 telecast at 10 p.m. EDT delivered a 1.66 national household rating and 533,000 national household impressions. Compared to 2008, when the Dallas Cowboys were featured on Hard Knocks, the premiere episode was up 28 percent in household rating and 35 percent in household impressions.
The premiere Bengals episode was especially strong among the key demographic of males ages 25-to-54, delivering a 1.99 coverage rating and 383,000 impressions. The rating in this group topped the 2008 premiere by 43 percent, and the impressions showed a 50 percent gain.
The ratings numbers above do not include replays of the show, which air eight-to-10 times weekly.
The show's second episode airs for the first time at 10:00 EDT tonight. New episodes also will air on Aug. 26, Sept. 2 and Sept. 9.
