Animal Planet's "River Monsters" Catches 1.6 Million Viewers in Third Season Premiere

April 10 Opener Was #1 Non-Fiction Program Among M18-49 in Timeslot

(New York, New York, April 12, 2011) -- Biologist and extreme angler Jeremy Wade returned for a new season of RIVER MONSTERS Sunday night, snaring more than 1.6M P2+ viewers and 1.2 HH rating (up +9% vs. the season two average).

The season opener entitled "The Mutilator," where pacu in Papua New Guinea have reportedly attached to the private parts of local men, kicked off the third season delivering 836K P18-49, 766K P25-54 and 482K M18-49, helping Animal Planet rank among the top 10 ad-supported cable networks in the 10 PM hour. It was the network's most-watched prime telecast since the season three finale of WHALE WARS last summer. In addition, W25-54 earned ratings above season two premiere levels (+17%, 0.7 vs. 0.6).

RIVER MONSTERS airs Sundays at 10 PM.

In RIVER MONSTERS, extreme angler and biologist Jeremy Wade is back on the hunt for legendary, flesh-eating freshwater fish in another season of Animal Planet's best-performing series ever. Wade's international excursions into the dark side of the watery depths mixes action and adventure with incredible mysteries, edge-of-the-seat chases and a battle of wills between man and the nearly supernatural beasts that lurk in the world's serpentine waterways. The new season brings Wade to some of the most scenic and feared locations on Earth in search of all-new, mysterious marine life. And, like all the best horror movies, the images are intense, immediate, gritty and real.

RIVER MONSTERS is produced for Animal Planet by Icon Films. Harry and Laura Marshall are the executive producers for Icon Films, and Lisa Lucas is the executive producer for Animal Planet. Charlie Foley is vice president of development for Animal Planet.