Porter Ridge draws 1.4 million viewers on premiere night

Porter Ridge, Discovery’s new reality show from the producers of Duck Dynasty set in the backwoods of Indiana, drew 1.4 million viewers on its premiere night last Tuesday, overshadowed by other unscripted shows on the net.

Looking at the Tuesday nationals, Nielsen estimates that Porter Ridge averaged a 0.7 rating/2 share in adults 18-49 and 1.42 million viewers in the 10:30 p.m. half-hour – a decent start but lagging cable competition in its time period, including a repeat of The Big Bang Theory on TBS, Legend Shelby Swamp Man on History and USA’s Suits.

Certainly, no one expected Duck Dynasty-like numbers for Porter Ridge, as even that now red-hot show bowed to 1.8 million viewers with its series premiere nearly 18 months ago.

Porter Ridge had a solid lead-in at 10 p.m. from Tickle (0.9/2 in 18-49, 1.91 million viewers overall), a spinoff of Discovery’s Moonshiners.

Discovery logged its best numbers of the night in the 9 o’clock hour with Amish Mafia (1.1/3 in 18-49, 2.54 million viewers overall), which tied with TNT’s Rizzoli & Isles as cable’s top show for the time period in 18-49. It was second on all of television (behind NBC’s America’s Got Talent) in men 18-49 and 25-54.