Because HBO programs are available both on demand and in an array of encore presentations, they ultimately receive an ample opportunity to reach an audience.
But as far as initial airings go, movie “The Normal Heart” was not a rousing success.
According to HBO, the Ryan Murphy-directed earned just under 1 million viewers for its initial airing and 434,000 for its first encore. The premium cable network reports the sum of the two airings at roughly 1.4 million.
That figure pales in comparison to the 2.35 million mark delivered by last year’s broadcast of film “Behind the Candelabra.” And given the hype and extensive promotional campaign surrounding the effort, it definitely represents an underwhelming total.
Interestingly enough, it does represent an above-average performance for HBO’s movie division. The network says the “The Normal Heart” was the fifth-highest-rated of the seventeen original films it has developed and broadcast.