Posted: 5:45 p.m.
The Bengals' very many training-camp storylines have been a hit with HBO viewers.
The club said Saturday Nielsen Media Research reports the network has experienced significant ratings increases with the first two episodes of "Hard Knocks '09: Training Camp with the Cincinnati Bengals."
Compared to 2008 when the Dallas Cowboys were featured, national household ratings for the first two shows are up 44 percent, and national household impressions are up 53 percent. In the key category of males ages 25-to-54, the shows were up 50 percent in rating and 57 percent in impressions over 2008.
The numbers don't include the weekly eight or nine replays. The remaining three episodes are set for 10 p.m. EDT Aug. 26, Sept. 2 and Sept. 9.
