Fox's FX Network Breaks Record With Debut Of 'American Crime Story'

The verdict is in on Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (NASDAQ: FOXA) FX Network's "The People V. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story," and it was certainly a positive one for the network.

The Ryan Murphy-created series, which will tackle a different true crime story each season, was watched by 5.11 million viewers and scored a 2.0 in the 18–49 demographic. While FX doesn't release official data until the +3 numbers come in, current numbers have the series as potentially being the biggest debut in network history.

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It's More Than Just Season Premieres

While season premieres and subsequent episodes of shows such as "Sons of Anarchy" and "American Horror Story" have bowed higher, this marks a new high point for the all-important initial entry episode. The previous mark was set way back in 2002 when the network's first ever drama "The Shield," earned 4.83 million viewers and a 2.4 demo rating.

Murphy Excels

In terms of how this ranks for Murphy, only the premieres of the "Freak Show" and "Hotel" editions of his "American Horror Story" did better (6.13 million and 5.81 million, respectively). Murphy and FX have a special relationship, which has paid off for the network, its parent company Fox and its investors.

The success of "Crime Story" comes at a key time for FX, which has recently said goodbye to two of its marquee series. "Sons of Anarchy's" 2014 exit and "Justified's" 2015 finale forced the network to refill its coffers but has had mixed luck.

While series like "The Strain" and "Tyrant" perform well in specific areas, neither has broken out, and "Anarchy" creator Kurt Sutter's latest project "The Bastard Executioner" fell flat. Now FX can now point advertisers to "Crime Story" and the Emmy winning "Fargo" as signs its drama bench is still deep.

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