Season Finale of A&E's DUCK DYNASTY Draws Record-Breaking 9.6 Million Viewers

A&E's monster hit, "Duck Dynasty," continues to break new records with the third season finale delivering an incredible 9.6 million total viewers for the one-hour episode. The episode was also watched by an A&E record 5.6 million adults 25-54, 5.5 million adults 18-49 and 2.6 million adults 18-34, becoming the most-watched series telecast in network history among all key demos. "Duck Dynasty's" 4.3 national adults 18-49 rating (total US) was also 34% stronger than last night's top broadcast show, "American Idol" (3.2 adults 18-49 rating).

Season three of "Duck Dynasty" averaged 8.4 million total viewers (up 95% versus season 2), 4.8 million adults 18-49 (up 92%) and 4.7 million adults 25-54 (up 81%), making it cable's #1 non-fiction series this year, and the #2 original series overall (behind only AMC's "Walking Dead").

"Duck Dynasty" was also the most social show on television Wednesday night. According to Bluefin Labs and Trendrr.tv, the telecast had more total activity across all major social media platforms than any other series on television for the night - beating "American Idol" and "Survivor."

Production will begin shortly on the fourth season, which is slated to premiere later in 2013. Fans will have access to unique content between seasons on AETV.com as well as Facebook (www.facebook.com/duckdynasty) and Twitter by following @DuckDynastyAE.

"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.