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Season 3 Premiere of DUCK DYNASTY is Highest-Rated Telecast in A&E's History

Fans of A&E's "Duck Dynasty" flocked together for an historic Wednesday night to make the back-to-back season three premiere episodes the network's most-watched telecasts of all time among all key demos, including total viewers, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54.

The 10PM episode garnered 8.6 million total viewers as well as 5.0 million adults 18-49 and 5.0 million adults 25-54. For the hour, Duck Dynasty averaged 8.6 million total viewers, 5.0 million adults 18-49 and 4.9 million adults 25-54, making both episodes the two most-watched series telecasts in network history among all key demos.

"Duck Dynasty" has become the #1 nonfiction series on cable in 2013. The Season three premiere grew by 132% in total viewers, 117% in adults 25-54 and 127% in adults 18-49 versus the season two premiere.

"Duck Dynasty" was also the most social show on television Wednesday night. According to Trendrr.TV, Blufin Labs and Social Guide, the series had more total activity across all major social media platforms than any other telecast on television for the night, with both episodes ranking #1 and #2 ahead of "American Idol." AETV.com also witnessed the best day ever for page views and video views as fans gathered to check out additional "Duck Dynasty" content (www.aetv.com/duck-dynasty).

New episodes of "Duck Dynasty" air Wednesdays at 10PM ET/PT.

"Duck Dynasty" is produced for A&E Networks by Gurney Productions. Executive producers for Gurney Productions are Deirdre Gurney and Scott Gurney. Executive producers for A&E are David McKillop, Elaine Frontain Bryant and Lily Neumeyer.

A&E is "Real Life. Drama." Now reaching more than 99 million homes, A&E is television that you can't turn away from; where unscripted shows are dramatic and scripted dramas are authentic. A&E offers a diverse mix of high quality entertainment ranging from the network's original scripted series, including "The Glades," "Longmire" and "Bates Motel," to signature non-fiction franchises, including the Emmy-winning "Intervention," "Duck Dynasty," "Beyond Scared Straight" and "Storage Wars," and the most successful justice shows on cable, including "The First 48." The A&E website is located at www.aetv.com.