Huge stink spurs ratings for Osama film

When National Geographic Channel announced plans to air the film “SEAL Team Six: The Raid on Osama bin Laden” on the Sunday before the election, there was a lot of blowback.

Many Republicans accused the network of trying to give Barack Obama’s reelection campaign a boost with a film that, they argued, portrayed the president as the hero in the infamous terrorist’s killing.

NGC denied those accusations, but the controversy appears to have stoked ratings for the movie, a dramatized version of the real-life events.

“Raid” became the network’s top-rated show of the year and the sixth-highest-rated program of all time on the network.

Sunday night’s 8 p.m. broadcast averaged a 2.2 household rating, according to Nielsen.

It drew a 1.4 rating among adults 25-54, including a 1.9 in men 25-54. The 25-54 average was more than quadruple NGC’s Sunday 8 to 10 p.m. average this season.  

The two-hour film averaged 2.7 million total viewers.

It was the highest-rated program on NGC since the August 2011 special “George W. Bush: The 9/11 Interview,” which aired just before the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11 and averaged a 1.7 in 25-54s.

The film was executive produced by Harvey Weinstein, a prominent Obama supporter. The New York Times reported last month that the movie had been recut following its debut at Cannes last spring to give Obama a more featured role.

The movie included news footage of the president, voiceovers and shots from the White House correspondents dinner just before bin Laden was killed.

NGC and the film’s director, John Stockwell, insisted they did not have a political bent. Republicans weren’t so sure.

“Democrats will do ANYTHING to re-elect Obama…I don’t even want to ponder what they may try to do next,” wrote one commenter complaining about the film’s timing on Fox Nation last month.

“The timing of this film is absolutely ridiculous,” Dan Gainor, vice president of business and culture for the Media Research Center, told FoxNews.com.

“For an Obama supporter to be releasing a ‘prObama’ film just before the election is a blatant attempt to sway voters. And liberals wonder why conservatives complain about Hollywood.”

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In cable ratings for the week ended Nov. 4:

Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): ESPN, TBS, TNT, AMC, FX.

Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): Fox News Channel, ESPN, USA, Disney Channel, TNT.

Top five cable news networks in primetime (25-54): Fox News Channel, MSNBC, CNN, HLN, CNBC.

Top five cable news programs (total viewers): 1 Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" (Wednesday, 8 p.m.); 2. Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" (Tuesday, 8 p.m.);  3. Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" (Thursday, 8 p.m.); 4. Fox News Channel's "Hannity" (Wednesday, 9 p.m.); 5 Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" (Friday, 8 p.m.)

Top movie (18-49s): No movie during the week was among the top 50 among 18-49s.

Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN's "Monday Night Football: San Francisco/Arizona" (Monday, 8:30 p.m.) 10.72 million.

Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: ESPN's "NFL Football: San Francisco/Arizona" (Monday, 8:30 p.m.); AMC's "The Walking Dead" (Sunday, 9 p.m.); FX's "Sons of Anarchy" (Tuesday, 10 p.m.); TNT's "NBA Basketball: Boston/Miami" (Tuesday, 8:04 p.m.); TNT's "NBA Basketball: Dallas/L.A. Lakers" (Tuesday, 10:48 p.m.).

Show on the rise: Discovery Channel's "Gold Rush," Friday, 9 p.m. The reality show was tops for the night among men 25-54 on both cable and broadcast, and it was also up 17 percent week-to-week among viewers 18-49 to 2.52 million.

Show on the decline: A&E's "Duck Dynasty" Wednesday, 10:30 p.m. The reality show dipped 38 percent week-to-week among 25-54s, from 1.95 million to 1.21 million.

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