Last week we wrote about USA Network’s 16-hour ‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’ marathon in partnership with Mariska Hargitay’s Joyful Heart Foundation and the NO MORE campaign. The marathon took place on Sunday and the episodes centered on domestic violence cases. PSAs featuring series stars Hargitay, Ice-T, Danny Pino and Kelli Giddish saying “NO MORE” to domestic violence and sexual assault were played throughout the marathon.
The night proved to be a big success, both ratings-wise and across social media. The episodes that aired between 7-11pm, compared to episodes in the same timeslot last year, delivered double-digit ratings increases across the board with an average of 2.6M total viewers.
In the lead up to the marathon, and on the day of, USA, the Joyful Heart Foundation, and NO MORE leveraged social media to get out the message about preventing domestic and sexual violence. The hashtags #sayNOMORE, #NOMORE and #NOMOREexcuses trended nationally.
“I am grateful to USA for their courage, vision and generosity in joining us to say NO MORE to domestic violence and sexual assault,” said Hargitay. “Being part of NO MORE from the beginning has been a great privilege. Society continues to misplace shame and blame on survivors – both women and men. That has to end. NO MORE confronts the myths and excuses that perpetuate domestic violence and sexual assault. I am filled with confidence and renewed determination that, together, we can and will put an end to this violence.”