Los Angeles -- Home Box Office's From the Earth to
the Moon cumulatively attracted 46.7 million viewers in 25.5 million homes during its
six-week run, network officials said last week.
Each week's presentation of the $68 million miniseries
drew weekly cumulative viewership of 16 million homes, with more than 26 million actual
viewers looking at some part of that week's shows, according to Nielsen Media
Research data supplied by HBO. On average, HBO subscribers watched nine of the 12 parts of
From the Earth to the Moon, according to the premium service.
However, HBO didn't release specific household ratings
for its miniseries, which aired April 5 to May 10. Tom Hanks served as executive producer
for the miniseries, as well as directing one part, writing and acting in another and
co-writing other parts.
The first two parts of From the Earth to the Moon
aired during a free preview weekend, during which roughly 200,000 people called an 800
number for new subscribers during the show's debut -- four times the average total
new-subscriber calls during a preview. The World Wide Web site for the miniseries has
received 2 million page views to date.
From the Earth to the Moon sparked a controversy
earlier this year that may reverberate later on. The broadcast networks and USA Network
urged the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences not to permit HBO to submit From
the Earth to the Moon in the miniseries category for an Emmy Award. But in April, ATAS
ruled that the programming could compete as a miniseries, prompting some veiled threats
that the broadcasters might go so far as to drop out of the Emmys.
