Dominant does not begin to describe how AMC’s “The Walking Dead” compares to every other scripted programming on television, but it also should not imply the series is immune from ratings declines.
After premiering to a monster rating two weeks ago, “TWD” shifted downward for last week’s broadcast. It took another hit, albeit a much slighter one, this week.
According to AMC, the episode garnered a 6.8 adults 18-49 rating and 12.9 million viewers, figures which represent declines of 4% and 7%, respectively, from last week’s numbers.
While this week’s episode had the burden of airing against both Sunday Night Football and Game 4 of the World Series, the less compelling football matchup meant that the combined sports audience was not notably stronger than the one that tuned into last week’s Broncos vs. Colts game.
The rating for next week’s airing will reveal whether baseball had any impact this week. But whether it did or did not, one thing is for certain: the minor decline did nothing to compromise “The Walking Dead”‘s standing as television’s top-rated scripted series.
