'Heroes' wins it for Sci-Fi

Heroes proved a ratings winner for the Sci-Fi channel last night, with the first episode pulling in the channel's highest ever audience and best multi-channel prime time position in its 12 year history.

The show attracted an audience of 622,766 adults and a 4.3% share, and generated the highest prime time TVR (percentage of potential audience viewing a channel) of 0.94 and a 2.4% share.

Nick Betts, Sci-Fi's managing director, said: "This result is a spectacular way to start the series' run. It more than validates the belief we had in the show the moment we saw it at last year's LA Screenings and reflects the hard work everyone at Sci-Fi has put into launching it."

Billed by the channel as "Lost meets X-Men", Heroes follows the tale of a group of ordinary people who discover they have special powers that will ultimately change the world.

The show has been hit in the US, giving NBC its best new show performance for 5 years, and a weekly audience of over 15 million, as well as receiving two Golden Globe nominations.