Washington, DC – National Geographic Channel and Fox Broadcasting Company (FOX) announced on July 7 that Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, from executive producer/writer/director Ann Druyan and executive producer Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy, Ted) and hosted by renowned astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, has reached a massive audience of 135 million viewers worldwide, including the U.S., across its 13-episode run. Internationally, the series attracted 90 million viewers on National Geographic Channel, while in the U.S., Cosmos reached more than 45 million viewers on FOX and National Geographic Channel. The series received an unprecedented rollout, premiering on all 90 National Geographic Channels in 180 countries, as well as 120 FOX-branded channels in 125 countries, making this the largest global launch ever for a television series. Additionally, in the first-ever multi-network launch for Fox Networks Group, Cosmos debuted simultaneously across multiple U.S. Fox networks including Fox Broadcasting Company (FOX), National Geographic Channel, FX, FXX, FXM, FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports 2, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo Mundo and FOX Life.

Tying together a unified scheduling approach — with regions airing the premiere episode within one week of its debut on FOX and NGC in the U.S. — alongside a comprehensive communications, marketing and digital strategy, catapulted Cosmos to become the most-watched series ever. This well-orchestrated campaign translated into major ratings traction across Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. The series has performed far above average in many of National Geographic Channel’s international territories, seeing triple-digit increases against primetime or total day average in Australia, Colombia, Croatia, Italy, Korea, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and the U.K.

In the U.S., Cosmos ranked among the Top 20 unscripted series — out of more than 500 — among Adults 18-49 in its first season. The series, which delivered an affluent and upscale audience in the U.S., averaged a total audience of more than nine million per week across live and time-shifted viewing platforms.

“Cosmos has been a phenomenal ride for NGCI, establishing a new zeitgeist in television 30 years after the original series premiered. It has awakened global audiences to the wonders of the universe — and their own innate curiosity — in an inspiring way,” said Ward Platt, Chief Executive Officer of National Geographic Channels International (NGCI) and Chief Operating Officer of Fox International Channels (FIC).

NGCI has also seen significant growth in social media during the three-month run of Cosmos. The network’s overall Facebook presence grew 14 percent in March, the month that COSMOS premiered. It has sustained this momentum throughout the series’ run, growing an additional 15 percent and 14 percent in April and May, respectively — tremendous gains month over month. In India, Southeast Asia and Korea, National Geographic Channel’s Facebook pages doubled their fan bases from March through May.