Ratings: ‘The Bible,’ ‘Vikings’ Draw Big Numbers for History

Mark Burnett's "The Bible" draws 13.1 million total viewers with its Sunday premiere

The odd coupling of "The Bible" and "Vikings" delivered big ratings for The History Channel, as the premiere of the Mark Burnett-produced miniseries "The Bible" drew 13.1 million total viewers and the series premiere of "Vikings" landed 6.2 million total viewers with its premiere.

The premiere of "The Bible" from 8 to 10 p.m. drew 13.1 million total viewers, rivaling last year's finale of the History miniseries "Hatfields & McCoys," which drew an astonishing 14.3 million total viewers.

With a second telecast factored in, "The Bible" averaged 14.8 million total viewers for the night, with 5 million of them in the advertiser-preferred 18-49 demographic and 5.6 million of them in the 25-54 demo.

“We could not be more thrilled with this out of the gate success of 'The Bible' on History," executive producers Roma Downey and Mark Burnett said. "The world is watching right now and we are incredibly humbled by the reaction to the series."

"Vikings," meanwhile, drew 6.2 million total viewers with its 10 p.m. premiere, and 8.3 million with a second airing factored in. Over the two airings, the first installment of "Vikings" pulled in 3.4 million viewers in the 18-49 demographic and 3.8 million in the 25-54 demo.

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