'Swamp People' Catches 4.7 Million Viewers for History in Return

Season three premeire up 21%; new ‘Mudcats' opens to 3 million

By Andrea Morabito -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/10/2012 3:58:25 PM

Days after its Super Bowl commercial, History's Swamp People attracted 4.7 million total viewers to its season three premiere, up 21% over its season two opener.

Swamp People also improved in key demos versus its last premeire, growing 25% with both adults 18-49 and adults 25-54 to 2.5 million.

Following the episode, new series Mudcats launched to 3 million total viewers including 1.4 million in the adults 18-49 demo and 1.6 million viewers among adults 25-54. The series follows men who compete to be the best "mudcatter" in Oklahoma.

History was betting on the Super Bowl huge audience to help spur interest in Swamp People's return, choosing the pricey prime spot over a week's worth of national cable buys, History GM Nancy Dubuc told B&C on Monday.

"It's kind of nice to do it in a show's second of third season because you have a benchmark to measure it against, to see the power of what that audience can deliver," she said.