CBC’s The Border is struggling to get a handle on the doctors of Seattle Grace Hospital despite BBM’s new Personal People Meters (PPM), as viewership for the first episodes of its third season continue to slip.

The action drama debuted with 497,000 viewers on Thursday, Oct. 8 at 9 p.m., dipping to 427,000 the following week. (All numbers 2+.)

It was moved to the competitive Thursday slot, after its first two seasons aired on Mondays, and faces CTV heavyweight Grey’s Anatomy, which thus far is averaging nearly three million viewers.

The show was a strong midseason contender for CBC, which rolled out Border in January last year to 710,000 viewers. It was promoted to fall 2008 for its second season, where it premiered with 560,000 viewers – though the number grew back to the mid-700,000s when Grace Park of Battlestar Galactica fame joined the series. The Border also stars James McGowan and Graham Abbey.

The series, budgeted at $1.5 million per episode, survived cuts by CBC earlier this year. Its third season order was reduced by just one episode, to 12.

From Playback Daily