Ice Road Truckers Sets History Ratings Record

By R. Thomas Umstead
published

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.”

R. Thomas Umstead
R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.