HISTORY's Vikings Returns with a Vengeance as #1 Specialty Series of the Night

Nearly Half a Million Canadians Watched the Highly-Anticipated Mid-Season Premiere

HISTORY Dominates Specialty with Top 3 Programs of the Night

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TORONTO, Dec. 2, 2016 /CNW/ - HISTORY^®'s Emmy^® Award-nominated original series Vikings returned with a vengeance, slaying the competition and seizing the #1 spot of the night across specialty with 465,000 Canadians (2+) watching its November 30^th mid-season premiere. As the enigmatic Ragnar Lothbrok made his return to Kattegat, Vikings claimed top spot in multiple key demos, including 2+, A25-54 and A18-49. Since its launch in 2013, Vikings has consistently been the #1 scripted series across Canadian specialty* (2+, A25-54, A18-34 and A18-49) and following Wednesday's strong start, the momentum continues.

HISTORY's domination continued with the special presentation of the premiere of Showcase's Incorporated and the special Vikings: The Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok taking the #2 (127,000 A25-54) and #3 spots (116,000, A25-54) of the night, respectively.

Additional Vikings data highlights include:

• Vikings is already on track to be the #1 original scripted series of the fall (A25-54)
• The season 4B premiere grew its audience by 22% (2+), 24% (A25-54), 43% (A18-34) and 39% (A18-49) over last Spring's season 4A finale.
• Vikings was the most-talked about Specialty series in Canada on both Facebook and Twitter on Wednesday night**
• Since it premiered in 2013, Vikings continues to be the #1 series on HISTORY.ca and on the HISTORY Go app***

In the next episode of Vikings, airing Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HISTORY, the Kattegat locals chide Ragnar (Travis Fimmel) that the gods have deserted him as he struggles to crew his voyage to Wessex. Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig) prepares to fulfill his dream of exploring the Mediterranean.

Sources:
Numeris PPM Data, Total Canada, Cdn Spec/Dig stations, Overnight data for Nov30/2016, S4A Finale: Apr21/2016 overnights – excluding sports

*Season rankers based on 3+ airings, confirmed data – excluding sports, SP'13 (Dec31/2013-May26/2013), SP'14 (Dec30/2014-June1/2014), SP'15 (Jan5/2015-May31/2015), SP'16 (Jan4/2016-May29/2016)
**Brandwatch
***Adobe Sitecatalyst: October 1, 2013 – November 30, 2016

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HISTORY® is a Corus Entertainment Inc. Network.

About Corus Entertainment Inc.
Corus Entertainment Inc. (TSX: CJR.B) is a leading media and content company that creates and delivers high quality brands and content across platforms for audiences around the world. The company's portfolio of multimedia offerings encompasses 45 specialty television services, 39 radio stations, 15 conventional television stations, a global content business, digital assets, live events, children's book publishing, animation software, technology and media services. Corus' roster of premium brands includes Global Television, W Network, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network Canada, HGTV Canada, Food Network Canada, HISTORY®, Showcase, National Geographic Channel, Q107, CKNW, Fresh Radio, Disney Channel Canada, YTV and Nickelodeon Canada. Visit Corus at www.corusent.com.

SOURCE Corus Entertainment Inc.

Laura Berkenblit, Senior Publicist, Corus Entertainment, 416.860.4225, [email protected]; Michelle McTeague, Publicity Manager, Corus Entertainment, 416.860.4226, [email protected]