• TV Week, Friday, March 9, 2007 9:45 AM

While Discovery Channel's James Cameron-produced documentary "The Lost Tomb of Jesus" drew the largest audience for the network in more than a year, the network has been trying to downplay the project. For instance, it did not trumpet its big ratings win, and it scheduled a last-minute special that harshly criticized its own documentary. It has also yanked a planned repeat of the show.

"This is not one where you necessarily beat the drum, from a business perspective," says David Leavy, executive vice president of corporate communications at Discovery. "It's not necessarily about making money, or making ratings, or shouting from the highest office building. Sometimes, having some maturity and perspective is more important than getting picked up in all the ratings highlights."

The documentary claims to have found the family tomb of Jesus unearthed in Jerusalem, and it has been harshly attacked by religious fringe groups while also generating skepticism from some top archeologists. "Tomb" averaged 4.1 million viewers -- Discovery's largest audience since September 2005.

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