It still ranked as Sunday’s #1 cable original. It will still rank as all of television’s #1 scripted program (in adults 18-49) this week.
AMC’s “The Walking Dead” did, however, suffer another week-to-week loss in the live+same-day ratings.
According to live+same-day data posted by Showbuzz, Sunday’s “TWD” drew a 5.17 adults 18-49 rating and 11.00 million total viewers. The numbers trail the 5.43 million rating and 11.40 million viewer sum garnered by the previous episode.
After opening the season with one of its best performances ever, “The Walking Dead” has endured four straight declines.
In terms of live+same-day viewership (which, admittedly, has become a less definitive statistic in recent years), this week’s episode was the least-watched since the penultimate third season episode. That installment drew 10.99 million L+SD viewers on March 24, 2013.
While not a statistic worth celebrating, it is also not one that should be use to condemn “The Walking Dead.” It is still a monster live+same-day performer, and it also receives huge lifts from DVR and multi-platform viewership.
— “TWD” led into “Talking Dead,” which drew a 1.69 rating and 3.74 million total viewers. The numbers are roughly on par with the 1.71 rating and 3.80 million viewer sum drawn last week.