'The Bible' and 'Vikings' deliver big ratings for History

The History Channel scored a double shot of big ratings Sunday night (March 3) with the premieres of "The Bible" and "Vikings," the latter of which is the show's first scripted drama series.

"The Bible" scored the night's biggest audience -- broadcast or cable -- with 13.1 million viewers for its two-hour premiere. "Vikings" followed with 6.2 million viewers and a healthy 2.5 million people in the adults 18-49 demographic.

Encore airings of the two shows increased their audiences to 14.8 million for "The Bible" and 8.3 million for "Vikings."

Both shows continue History's streak of ratings success, both with events (a la last year's "Hatfields & McCoys") and ongoing shows like "Pawn Stars." The cable channel had never attempted a scripted series, however, prior to "Vikings."