Close to 12-Million Viewers for The Debut of ‘The Vietnam War’ on PBS

The premiere episode of “The Vietnam War,”the 10-part, 18-hour documentary film series from Ken Burns and Lynn Novick that aired on Sunday, September 17, drew an average audience of 9.6 million total viewers across PBS stations nationwide (with a 6.0 household rating). According to the Live + 7 Day data, a total of 11.9 million unique viewers watched this premiere. The first episode has been streamed over two million times to date, making it the most-streamed series premiere in PBS history.

Comparably, the premiere episode of “The Vietnam War” is PBS’ highest-rated telecast of the Nielsen 2016-17 broadcast season and the best performing since the series finale of “Downton Abbey” on MASTERPIECE in March 2016. And 6.0 rating for “The Vietnam War” is more than 300 percent greater than PBS’ average primetime rating. It also ranks among the highest-rated episodes of all time for a Ken Burns/Lynn Novick series, rising above titles including “Prohibition” (2011), “The War” (2007) and “Jazz” (2001).