Lifetime’s primetime block Saturday evening surrounding the eagerly-awaited world premiere of the Lifetime Original Movie “Whitney” (#Whitney, #WhitneyMovie), directed by Golden Globe® Award winner and Academy Award® nominee Angela Bassett, and hour-long specials “Bobby Brown: Remembering Whitney” and “Whitney Houston Live: Her Greatest Performances” grossed 11.8 million Total Viewers across three telecasts, according to Nielsen Fast Cable Ratings.
Marking Bassett’s directorial debut, “Whitney” entertained 4.5 million Total Viewers, becoming the network’s most-watched telecast across all key demographics since “Flowers in the Attic” last January. In the 8:00pm time period, the film, starring Yaya DaCosta in the lead role and Arlen Escarpeta as Bobby Brown, also averaged 2.2 million Adults 25-54, 2.1 million Adults 18-49, 1.6 million Women 18-49 and 1.6 million Women 25-54.
An incredible 91% of the “Whitney” audience tuned in to watch the 10:00pm one-hour special, “Bobby Brown: Remembering Whitney,” an exclusive, no-holds-barred interview with Houston’s ex-husband about the couple’s powerfully intense relationship, delivering 4.1 million Total Viewers, 1.9 million Adults 25-54, 1.8 million Adults 18-49, 1.4 million Women 18-49 and 1.4 million Women 25-54.
At 11:00pm ET/PT, the special “Whitney Houston Live: Her Greatest Performances” brought in 3.2 million Total Viewers, 1.4 million Adults 25-54, 1.3 million Adults 18-49, 1.1 million Women 25-54 and 1.0 million Women 18-49. Whitney Houston Live: Her Greatest Performances, hosted by Clive Davis, Houston’s longtime mentor and creative partner, featured on-air footage of the icon singing her most enduring songs.
Whitney also struck a chord among social media, where it was the most tweeted-about program for the day and Lifetime’s second most tweeted-about program ever. In search, Whitney Houston ranked number one on Google Trends for the day.
Lifetime will encore an event block this evening, starting with “Whitney” at 8:00pm ET/PT, “Bobby Brown: Remembering Whitney” at 10:00pm and the special “Beyond the Headlines: Whitney Houston” at 11:00pm.
“Whitney” chronicles the headline-making relationship between the iconic singer, actress, producer and model Whitney Houston and singer and songwriter Bobby Brown from the time they first met at the very height of their celebrity to their courtship and tumultuous marriage. Throughout it all, difficulties followed the superstar couple while they dealt with the overwhelming rewards and consequences of the fame and fortune created by Houston’s meteoric rise that would soon overshadow them both.
Houston’s vocal performances in the film were sung by Grammy®-nominated and multiplatinum-selling entertainer Deborah Cox. The music featured in the film includes Houston’s hits “The Greatest Love of All,” “I’m Your Baby Tonight,” “I’m Every Woman” and “I Will Always Love You” as well as Brown’s “Every Little Step.” Produced by The Sanitsky Company, “Whitney” was executive produced by Larry Sanitsky (“Betty & Coretta”). Shem Bitterman (“Betty & Coretta”) wrote the script.
