Signaling that “The Walking Dead” might have found its ratings peak, Sunday’s mid-season 4 finale enjoyed only modest growth over the prior week’s episode.
According to AMC, the episode attracted 12.1 million viewers with 7.7 million (roughly a 6.1 rating) in the adults 18-49 demographic. Last week’s broadcast, which competed against a stronger football game and the highly rated American Music Awards and lacked the benefit of being a season finale, drew a contextually more impressive 5.7 rating with 11.3 million viewers.
The midseason finale numbers display considerable declines from those of the season four premiere. That episode, a record for the series and AMC, posted an 8.2 with 16.1 million pairs of attentive eyeballs.
Numbers for Sunday’s episode also trailed the season averages; to date, the premiere season four of “The Walking Dead” has averaged 13.0 million viewers (with 8.4 million in the 18-49 demographic) per week.
On the plus side, Sunday’s “The Walking Dead” will again reign as the week’s top-rated scripted series. It also enjoyed gains of 15% in total viewers and 12% in the demo over last year’s fall finale.
