The Queen Latifah Show Posts Highest New Daytime Series Premiere of the Year

CULVER CITY, Calif., Sept. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Queen Latifah Show, the new multi-topic, daytime talk-variety show from Sony Pictures Television, Flavor Unit and Overbrook Entertainment debuted Monday to strong ratings and massive increases over both lead-ins and year-ago time periods.  The premiere episode featuring Oscar-nominee and Golden Globe-winner, John Travolta and a performance by musical phenom Willow Smith scored a solid 1.7/5 NSI weighted metered market average which was up 31% from last year's time period average and up 21% from its average lead-in among households (*Note Washington, DC and Richmond, VA were excluded due to breaking news).  Factoring in secondary telecasts in several leading markets, the premiere delivered a 2.0 cumulative rating. Queen Latifah was also up 80% in the key W25-54 demographic compared to last year's time period averages and grew 29% over its lead-in averages.  It is the second highest rated premiere of a new daytime talk show since The Dr. Oz Show debuted in 2009.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130611/LA29788LOGO)

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080424/LATH509LOGO)

On the major CBS owned and affiliated stations in New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Dallas, Queen Latifah outperformed the shows that it replaced in its time periods last year by 60%, 200%, 117% and 260%, respectively, in the key W25-54 demographic.

"These premiere ratings are confirmation of Queen Latifah's broad appeal," said Holly Jacobs, Executive Vice President of Syndicated and Reality Television. "We look forward to building on this initial success in the days and weeks to come."

"It's incredibly exciting to see such a positive response to the show we've been crafting for the past year," says Executive Producer Corin Nelson, "And it's just the beginning of how we plan to showcase all of Latifah's talents and the quality of guests and entertainment this show will give viewers every day."

In addition to upcoming celebrity guests including Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Sharon Stone, and Jake Gyllenhaal, Queen Latifah's premiere week will also include musical guests such as Willow Smith and Tom Higgenson, surprise performances, Latifah's comedic take on pop culture and everyday heroes who are changing lives in their local communities.

The Queen Latifah Show is a daytime talk-variety series that showcases Queen Latifah's extraordinary range of talents as a global entertainment icon. Corin Nelson serves as Executive Producer.  The show is produced by Flavor Unit, Overbrook Entertainment and Sony Pictures Television and is cleared on major station groups around the country, including the CBS Television Stations.  Visit www.queenlatifah.com for more information about the show and where to watch.

ABOUT SONY PICTURES TELEVISION

Sony Pictures Television (http://www.sonypicturestelevision.com), a Sony Pictures Entertainment company, is one of the television industry's leading content providers. It produces and distributes programming in every genre, around the world and for a multitude of platforms.  In addition to one of the industry's largest libraries of award-winning feature films, television shows and formats, Sony Pictures Television (SPT) boasts a current program slate that includes top-rated daytime dramas and game shows, landmark off-network series, original animated series and critically acclaimed primetime dramas, comedies and telefilms. SPT has 18 wholly-owned or joint venture production companies in 15 countries outside the U.S. and also maintains offices in 32 countries. SPT's worldwide television networks portfolio includes 124 channel feeds available in 159 countries, reaching more than 800 million households worldwide.  SPT also creates original content for and manages SPE's premium video website, Crackle. Additionally, SPT owns production company Embassy Row and is a part owner of cable channel Game Show Network (GSN), 3D channel 3net, premier horror/thriller website and VOD service FEARnet and national U.S media sales company ITN Networks, Inc.  SPT advertiser sales is one of the premier national advertising sales companies and handles the commercial inventory in SPT's syndicated series as well as in U.S. digital businesses including FEARnet, DrOz.com and PlayStation. 

About Flavor Unit

Flavor Unit Entertainment is a production company owned and operated by Queen Latifah and her partner, Shakim Compere.   Flavor Unit Entertainment, which started in New Jersey and is now based in Miami, is quickly establishing itself as one of the most important production companies in the film industry. They began by executive producing Disney's box office # 1 hit Bringing Down the House and then continued with Beauty Shop for MGM and The Perfect Holiday for Paramount. They have also produced The Cookout with Lion's Gate, as well as the film Just Wright with Fox Searchlight. On the small screen, they executive produced HBO's critically acclaimed film Life Support which garnered a number of awards including an Emmy nomination and Golden Globe win for Queen Latifah . Flavor Unit Entertainment made a multi-year deal with BET to create new original programming including the original movie The Cookout 2 and its first-ever scripted romantic comedy titled Let's Stay Together which premiered with 4.4 million viewers. In 2011, Flavor Unit Entertainment's original film Single Ladies, was expanded into VH1's first hour-long scripted series with approximately 3 million viewers throughout its two season run.  Flavor Unit produced Latifah's film Joyful Noise. Most recently, Flavor Unit produced Lifetime's Original Movie, Steel Magnolias which stars Queen Latifah, Phylicia Rashad, Jill Scott and Alfre Woodard. The movie premiered in October 2012 as the third most-watched telecast ever on the network, averaging 6.5 million total viewers.  Flavor Unit most recently struck a multi-year licensing deal with Netflix.  Their first release includes the thriller, House of Bodies which stars Terrence Howard and Peter Fonda.  

About Overbrook Entertainment

Overbrook Entertainment, founded by partners James Lassiter, Will Smith and run along with partner Jada Pinkett Smith, is committed to offering the highest quality entertainment focused in film and television and has produced a diverse slate of both critically acclaimed and blockbuster feature films, which have generated more than $2.5 billion dollars in worldwide box office receipts and even more in home video sales. Some of Overbrook's most successful films include Ali, Hitch, The Pursuit of Happyness, I Am Legend, Hancock, The Secret Life of Bees, and most recently, The Karate Kid. Overbrook's most recent feature project was After Earth, which premiered in May 2013.

SOURCE Sony Pictures Television