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The results for A&E's premiere of Sopranos had to make executives at the company breath a little easier as it drew 4.3 million viewers, which makes it the most-watched off-network series premiere in cable history. The company paid $2.55 million an episode to get the rights to rerun the show.

The impact of the show was felt immediately as the network averaged 1.8 million viewers in the 18-49 age group and 1.9 million in the 25-54 demographic. Both of those numbers were over 200 percent higher than their normal primetime averages.

The Sopranos is part of A&E's continuing effort to lower the average age of their viewer, while providing engaging entertainment.

Broadcasting & Cable concerning their long-term strategy:

"A&E, once the home for ballet and concert music, launched a three-pronged revamp a few years ago. The first step was lowering its audience's median age with less expensive reality fare. The second was bringing in more viewers with expensive acquisitions, like The Sopranos and CSI: Miami, which A&E bought for more than $1 million an episode and debuted last fall."

This is really paying off for A&E as these strategies have paid off for other networks that brought popular shows to their program offerings. For example, Lifetime bought Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives for $1.2 million and $500,000 an episode; TBS paid $700,000 for Sex & The City; and Bravo bought Six Feet Under for $250,000 an episode.

Some people suggested that the show may not do as well without the strong profanity or violence, but they've been proven wrong. When you really think of it, how many people say to themselves that I sure hope the profanity is kept in the show for me to enjoy. Obviously the story and drama is much more important to the viewers.