Alliance Atlantis Communications has reason to feel vindicated regarding its two-part miniseries production Hitler: The Rise of Evil, which drew strong ratings on U.S. television.

When the production was originally announced, groups including the Anti-Defamation League questioned why AAC would waste its energy – and a budget of US$15 million to US$20 million – on depicting the rise to power of reviled German dictator Adolf Hitler. (The ADL rescinded its criticism after actually seeing the mini.) And then Ed Gernon, executive producer on the movie, lost his job at AAC shortly after giving an interview in which he compared the present-day U.S. to pre-World War II Germany.

But with these controversies behind it, the mini played to big numbers in sweeps season in the crucial U.S. market. Part one aired on CBS between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Sunday, May 18, finishing third on the night with 13.6 million overall viewers (the finale of ABC’s The Bachelor had 15 million) and a 3.9 rating among adults 18-49, helping the caster win the night in total viewers. Numbers were particularly high in the male 25-54 demographic, with a 5.5 rating. Part two aired on the following Tuesday, attracting 12.2 million viewers and scoring a 3.7 rating in A18-49.

Meanwhile, Hitler aired in Canada on Global affiliates CH Hamilton and CH Vancouver. The first night was a simulcast with CBS, while part two aired on the Wednesday. Ratings for Global were not as good. CH Hamilton had 462,400 overall viewers and a 2.4 rating in A18-49. Part two had 160,600 viewers and a 1.6 A18-49 rating. The drop-off is likely attributable to viewers catching the conclusion on CBS a day earlier.

CH Vancouver recorded 122,000 viewers for part one (an overall 4.0 rating) and 71,000 for part two (a 2.3 rating).

Some believe Global did not promote the mini very hard, perhaps due to the controversy surrounding it. Another strike against Hitler is that advertisers – conservative by nature – tend to shy away from war-themed programming. Those that did go in were predominantly local retail clients.

But Hitler will receive a bigger splash for its second window on AAC’s own History Television specialty June 21 and 22.

‘It’s a little unusual [to have a turnaround] this quick, and it’s nice that you actually get an opportunity before the buzz dies,’ says John Gill, Alliance Atlantis Broadcasting senior VP programming for factual and BBC channels. ‘Typically this might come along a year after the initial broadcast.’

Norm Bolen, EVP programming, AAB, was at a corporate dinner when he received a text message with the CBS numbers from Peter Sussman, CEO of AAC’s Entertainment Group and Hitler’s other exec producer. If viewers missed the series on Global, Bolen reasoned, then strong word of mouth might compel them to watch it on History. He immediately decided to boost the mini’s marketing campaign by 5%.

AAC has produced an original spot for the mini and will be using its vertical integration to the max, advertising the program heavily on its other channels including Showcase, Showcase Action and Independent Film Channel Canada. Despite the admitted challenge in attracting advertisers, Bolen says that, company-wide, AAC is proud of what it has accomplished.

‘Putting Hitler on [History] is not a sales issue for us,’ he says. ‘We would do it if we didn’t sell one ad. We would do it because it serves our audience that wants that kind of programming and drives them to watch other programs on our channels. During the Hitler broadcast we will certainly promote all kinds of programs.’

CBS chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves also expressed his satisfaction with the project. He stated that Hitler’s performance is an indicator that TV movies are far from dead, even though production volumes in recent years have plummeted. The key, agree Moonves and Sussman, is to make TV movies as ‘event like’ as possible.

Sussman, who could not be reached in time for this story, had told Playback that he would be strongly interested in producing a sequel, beginning when Hitler assumed control of Germany in 1933. (For more on Hitler: The Rise of Evil, see Cinematography, p. 23)

-www.allianceatlantis.com