Summer surprise: 'Ice Road Truckers'

Wins summer as the top cable reality show in 18-54s

By Toni Fitzgerald
MediaLife.com
Aug 15, 2007
                                                            
“Ice Road Truckers” may be the summer’s unlikeliest hit. It’s a narrowly focused reality show about a rather obscure profession, and it airs on a (US) network, the History Channel, better known for its war documentaries, not contemporary adventure stories.

But somehow “Truckers” has become the most-watched show in History’s history, and it’s also the summer’s top-rated cable reality show with the adults 25-54 the network thrives among.

“Truckers” averaged 3.89 million total viewers in its most recent outing Sunday at 10 p.m., according to Nielsen, up 14 percent over the 3.4 million who watched the debut in June.

In 25-54s, the show drew 2.47 million viewers, ranking third for the week on basic cable and ahead of such hits as USA’s “WWE Entertainment,” Lifetime’s “Army Wives” and TBS’s “The Bill Engvall Show.”

“Truckers” has drawn many comparisons to Discovery’s smash “Deadliest Catch,” about a group of Alaskan crab fishermen. As on “Catch,” the men in “Truckers” fight against time and the elements to do their job, a potentially fatal one.

The drivers deliver equipment to the diamond mines in Northern Canada, where driving over frozen lakes offers the most direct route to the Arctic Circle where the mines are located. The hurried drivers are constantly in danger, should the lakes crack open and suck the rigs into the freezing water below.

“Truckers” capitalizes on the adventure reality programming that “Catch” has helped popularize. That genre, which has deep roots in CBS’s “Survivor” and “Amazing Race,” also includes Discovery’s “Man vs. Wild,” “Dirtiest Jobs” and a previous History offering, “Dangerous Missions.”

These shows appeal to a surprisingly wide audience, considering their niche topics. History has said that “Truckers” and other such programs tie into the theme of exploration, a popular topic for the network that includes shows like “Lost Worlds,” “The Universe” and “Digging for the Truth.”

“Truckers” also draws a younger crowd than the usual History programs, something the network has been chasing with recent specials on “Star Wars” and other pop-culture topics.

Paced by “Truckers,” History built its adults 18-49 average by 15 percent year-over-year in July. And "Truckers" was History's only show in the top 40 among adults 18-34 last week.

(I CAN'T FIND IT LISTED ANYWHERE IN CANADA. IF I'M WRONG, PLEASE POST HERE!)

Now this show sounds intriguing! Original Productions out of Burbank produces the show. No word yet on a Canadian airing.

This is a great show
i have downloaded every episode of the net (no Canadian airings yet)

thanks to BUBBA th LOVE SPONGE on (Sirius) for getting me hooked otherwise i would have never found out about this show

BUBBA interviewed one of the guys from Kelowna and they are thinking about doing season 2 already
i may watch it again when it comes on in Canada