‘Killing Lincoln’ On National Geographic Draws Record Audience

by uInterviewFebruary 19, 2013, 12:00 amNews >

Killing Lincoln, the movie adaptation of Bill O’Reilly’s book of the same name, premiered on the National Geographic Channel President’s Day Weekend to a vast audience.

The film was the National Geographic Channel’s first non-fiction drama, and not likely to be the network’s last. Killing Lincoln pulled in a total of 3.4 million viewers during its premiere on Sunday evening, making it the highest viewership of any single telecast in the channel’s history. Furthermore, its performance was 26% better than NatGeo’s November release of SEAL Team Six: The Raid on Osama bin Laden.

It was 150 years ago that President Abraham Lincoln stood on the hallowed ground of one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War and delivered his Gettysburg Address, making this year an apt one to commemorate his life and death. Steven Spielberg’s film Lincoln starring Daniel Day Lewis was released at the end of last year, depicting the 16th president’s efforts to pass the 13th amendment. Killing Lincoln is also cashing in on the heightened interest in one of the nation’s best presidents, whose presidency is a subject of enduring fascination.

National Geographic is looking to team up with the O'Reilly again in the near future. The network might soon adapt another book of his focus on a presidential assassination, Killing Kennedy.