The History Channel’s new original series,Ice Road Truckers, skated to the highest performance ever for a network original show.
The June 17 debut of the series -- which follows the journey of long-haul truckers who drive their rigs over hundreds of miles on ice roads cut across the surface of frozen lakes -- drew a record 3.4 million total viewers, topping the 3.3 million for History’s 2003 telecast of the specialRussia: Land of the Tsars, Part 1.
In addition the series set network records in adult 25-54 viewers (2 million) and adults 18-49 (1.8 million), according to History. Overall, the show generated a 2.6 household rating.
History executive vice president and general manager Nancy Dubuc said in a prepared statement: “We couldn’t be more pleased with the premiere of Ice Road Truckers. This is a great start to a series that showcases why history is so fascinating.”
