Grit, Escape To Become Nationally Rated

Broadcast diginets Grit and Escape will begin to subscribe to Nielsen Media Services and be rated nationally while simultaneously expanding into general market advertising sales, it was announced today by Jonathan Katz, president-CEO of Katz Broadcasting which owns both networks.

Katz also announced that he has tapped Marathon Ventures to oversee general market advertising and sponsorship efforts for both Grit and Escape.

Grit and Escape just completed their first year on-the-air, with accelerated growth and expansion among station groups and distribution, direct response advertisers and viewers alike. In just 12 months, Grit has grown to 91 million homes and 81% coverage of the country while Escape is in 70 million homes and 61% coverage.

“Our first look at audience delivery for both networks exceeded our expectations and mirrored their rapid distribution growth,” Katz said. “Grit is delivering over a quarter million total viewers in prime with Escape not too far behind — this is explosive and unprecedented viewership for networks that have only been on the air for a year.”

Katz continued: “Marathon Ventures has successfully handled direct response advertising for both networks, and is ideally suited to lead Grit and Escape’s expansion into general market.”

David Brenner, senior partner at Marathon Ventures, commented: “In a very short time, Grit and Escape have attracted large and loyal audiences. Strong and expanding national ratings give us powerful tools with which to pursue general market advertisers.”

Action-oriented Grit targets men 25-54 with a heavy focus on western, war and action theatrical motion pictures and series.  Escape targets women 25-54 with a brand of programming anchored in stories of crime and mystery.

Marathon Ventures provides full-service advertising sales representation for a wide range of cable and broadcast networks, studios and distributors. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in New York City, Marathon is privately held.