The History Channel Scores with Ax Men
3M Total Viewers Tune Into Series About Pacific Northwest Timber Cutters
By Anne Becker -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/11/2008 4:31:00 PM
The History Channel found a hit in the premiere of new series Ax Men.
The show debuted to some 3 million total viewers March 9 at 10 p.m. -- the channel’s second-highest-viewed premiere ever. The debut also scored in the network’s key demos, drawing 1.7 million adults 25-54 and 1.6 million adults 18-49, the most on cable in both of those demos for the night, according to Nielsen Media Research.
“We couldn’t be more pleased with the premiere of Ax Men,” History executive vice president and general manager Nancy Dubuc said. “This is a great start to a series that showcases why the subject of the American frontier resonates with so many people.”
The show, which follows Pacific Northwest timber cutters, is the latest in a string of successes for History, which finished February up 12% in primetime to 1.2 million total viewers.
In the year since Dubuc took over the chief slot at the network, History logged its seven most-viewed series, including Ax Men, Ice Road Truckers and Cities of the Underworld, and its three most-viewed specials, including Lost Book of Nostradamus and Life After People, which drew 5.4 million viewers.
Ax Men is produced by Original Productions, with Thom Beers and Philip Segal as executive producers. David McKillop and Dolores Gavin are executive producers for History.
