HOCUS POCUS on Freeform Reaches 8.2 Million Viewers in Its First Week

Twenty-five years after its theatrical release, "Hocus Pocus" is more popular than ever - exclusively airing on FreeForm during the Network's "31 Nights of Halloween" stunt, the film reached 8.2 million Total Viewers in its first week. If NATO's average ticket price of $8.97 were applied to the film's performance, "Hocus Pocus" would have had a weekend box-office equivalent of approximately $73.6 million in its first five days if it were released today.

Expanding to the entire month of October for the first time, the debut week of Freeform's "31 Nights of Halloween" grew over the opening week of last year's "13 Nights" (10/19-10/25/17) in Total Viewers (+11% - 598,000 vs. 540,000), Adults 18-49 (+2% - 280,000 vs. 275,000) and Women 18-49 (+4% - 186,000 vs. 179,000).

• Launching on Oct. 1 this year, the newly expanded Halloween programming event scored solid double-digit gains over day one in 2017 (10/19/17) across all key demos, posting its strongest start in 3 years (since 2015) in Total Viewers (+22% - 728,000 vs. 596,000), Adults 18-34 (+42% - 250,000 vs. 176,000) and Persons 12-34 (+47% - 302,000 vs. 205,000).

• "31 Nights of Halloween" improved the daypart (Monday-Sunday, 6:00-11:00 p.m.) for FreeForm by sizable margins over the equivalent seven days last year (Monday, 10/2 - Sunday, 10/8/17) of 84% in Total Viewers (857,000 vs. 465,000), 76% in Adults 18-49 (416,000 vs. 236,000) and 86% in Women 18-34 (164,000 vs. 88,000).

During the first week of "31 Nights of Halloween," FreeForm ranked as the No. 1 cable network in the daypart among Women 18-34 (164,000) and Females 12-34 (202,000).

Led by three broadcasts of "Hocus Pocus," FreeForm aired each of the Top 8 cable movie telecasts among Adults 18-49 in its first week of "31 Nights" and each of the Top 10 among Women 18-34.

Source: The Nielsen Company, Live + 3 Day U.S. Program Delivery and Ratings, 10/1-10/7/18 or as dated. Reach=NPower, 6 minute qualifier. "31 Nights of Halloween" daypart=Mon-Sun 6:00-11:00 p.m.

Part of Disney|ABC Television, FreeForm connects to audiences and goes BEYOND entertainment with bold, original programming and immersive social engagement. As Disney's young adult television and streaming network, it delivers a unique mix of quality original and acquired series, plus fan-favorite movies and the holiday events "31 Nights of Halloween," "Kick Off to Christmas" and "25 Days of Christmas." The FreeForm app is a service that allows viewers with participating TV subscription services access to 24/7 live viewing of the network, as well as continued on-demand access via a wide array of devices.