'Duck Dynasty' finale shatters records, tops broadcast

Here’s another cable series delivering ratings that beat the big broadcast networks.

The season finale of A&E’s breakout hit Duck Dynasty, about a wealthy Christian family of Louisiana duck call makers, shattered the network’s records while beating or tying all of broadcast in the adult demo Wednesday evening.

In the final national ratings, which were just released this morning by Nielsen, Duck Dynasty delivered 6.5 million viewers — the cable network’s top telecast ever. The swampy docu-series also set a record among adults 18-49, earning a 3.0 rating in the valuable demo — topping shows like CBS’ Survivor, ABC’s Nashville and Fox’s The X-Factor, while matching CBS’ Criminal Minds (ABC’s Modern Family was a repeat, which helped). That also means Duck Dynasty won its 10 p.m. time period outright.

The second season of Duck Dynasty grew its audience by 139 percent overall compared to its first round. Duck Dynasty was also on EW.com’s recent list of Fall TV Winners & Losers, which noted Red State reality shows have been performing stronger than ever this fall.

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