'Whale Wars' Harpoons Viewers In Second Outing

Show gave Animal Planet best Friday primetime ratings in 10 years

By Alex Weprin -- Broadcasting & Cable, 11/18/2008 10:49:00 AM

The second episode of Animal Planet’s Whale Wars saw ratings growth from its premiere week, delivering Animal Planet’s best Friday primetime delivery in 10 years.

Friday’s episode drew more than 1.1 million viewers, up from 957K last week and a 0.9 household rating with 812K homes, up from a 0.8/724K last week. There was also double digit viewership growth among P25-54, M25-54 and W25-54 from last week.

Animal Planet has bet big on Whale Wars. In addition to an extensive election week ad buy, the network gave a green light to a second season of the series before the first episode even aired. Camera crews are set to follow the crew of the Steve Irwin during this year’s whaling season, as they seek to prevent Japanese whaling ships from harming any whales.

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set aside that the show itself is poorly constructed, it's a real shame to see Animal Planet lend credibility to such a fringe organization. attacking a ship on the open seas, using inexperienced novices at sea is just plain dangerous for everyone involved. i remember the day when animal planet was a safe environment for family viewing. that place is gone.

will - 11/19/2008 10:13:00 AM EST

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