Thom Hartmann Show Creates 21% Growth For Free Speech TV Network Viewership Nationwide

Washington, D.C. -- August 1, 2011 -- Top-ranked television and radio personality Thom Hartmann’s nationally syndicated cable television program, The Big Picture, has grown in viewership by an impressive 19% since going on the air in late January of this year, while his simulcast (a’la Imus) TV/radio viewership has surged by 57% since it debuted on TV in October of 2010.

This spiking popularity of Hartmann’s two programs, both carried live by Free Speech TV (FSTV) weekdays, has created an overall 21% increase in viewership for the progressive network over the past year.

Both Hartmann’s simulcast-TV/radio and standalone television shows are the top-three most-watched programs on FSTV, which reaches over 35 million households throughout the country via Dish Network, DirecTV, RT TV, and over 200 local cable TV affiliates.

According to Don Rojas, Executive Director of Free Speech TV, “Thom's programs continue to impress viewers with excellent content and high production values. We are delighted with the performance of Thom Hartmann's programs and we look forward to a long partnership between him and the nation's only progressive TV network.”

In addition to the presence of his radio show on FSTV, Hartmann, the nation’s #1 rated progressive radio personality, is syndicated on three continents via Pacifica Radio, commercial stations from New York to Los Angeles by Dial-Global, on SiriusXM, and heard on American Forces Radio worldwide.

Thom Hartman is also the New York Times bestselling author of 23 books currently in print and a four time Project Censored-award winning author.