National Geographic Channel's launch of new series Border Wars on Sunday, Jan. 10, at 9 p.m. was the network's highest-rated series premiere ever, reaching 2.9 million people ages 2 and older and drawing 4.6 million in two airings that night.
The show had an average household rating of 1.23 and an 0.84 rating in the persons 25-54 demographic, the network said.
With a primetime lineup on Sunday that also included premieres of Inside Cocaine Submarines at 10 p.m. and Lockdown: Inside the Kill Fence at 8 p.m., NGC ranked eighth in primetime among all ad-supported cable networks in households and its target demo of adults 25-54, averaging a household rating of 1.09 and a 0.74 rating in persons ages 25-54 from 8 to 11 p.m., it said.
Following Sunday night's "sneak peek preview" of Border Wars, the series moved to its regular night and time of Mondays at 9 p.m. on Jan. 11. Key househould local ratings for Border Wars on Sunday included: 1.21 in Los Angeles, 1.3 in Atlanta, 1.06 in Washington, D.C., 0.97 in Philadelphia and 0.85 in Dallas, the channel said.
Border Wars follows the officers and agents of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as they scour the inhospitable landscape at one of the busiest border crossings in the country, seeking to fight terrorism and intercept illegal entrants from the air, on the ground and at the ports of entry. NGC cameras were given special access to go on duty with CBP agents and officers as they use every means at their disposal -- from high-tech stealth planes to basic wilderness skills -- to track, catch and deport illegal immigrants.
