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Ratings: “The Walking Dead” Wins Night, But Falls From Last Midseason Premiere

Ratings have emerged for the midseason premiere of “The Walking Dead.”

The Walking Dead | Gene Page/AMC

AMC’s “The Walking Dead” predictably ranked as Sunday’s top show in the key adults 18-49 demographic. It also dominantly ranked as the top cable original in overall viewership.

Its numbers do not, however, compare favorably to those posted by the previous midseason premiere.

According to live+same-day data posted by Showbuzz, Sunday’s midseason premiere drew a 3.64 adults 18-49 rating and averaged 8.28 million overall viewers.

The numbers top the 3.36 rating and 7.89 million viewer mark posted by the fall finale. They also positioned “The Walking Dead” as television’s #1 show in adults 18-49 (beating the Winter Olympics closing ceremony) and cable’s most-watched Sunday original.

“TWD” will, moreover, almost certainly rank as the broadcast week’s top-rated show in adults 18-49 from a live+same-day standpoint.

The numbers, as far as the overall TV landscape goes, represent fantastic ratings. And they do not even reflect the significant lift the show routinely receives from DVR, encore and multi-platform viewing.

The issue is the year-over-year comparison. Facing competition from the Grammys (which far out-rated the Olympics ceremony), last year’s midseason premiere drew a 5.72 adults 18-49 rating and averaged 12.00 million viewers.

And while the current eighth season has been weaker than last year in general, this episode did follow-up on the major development from the fall finale: Carl’s certain death. That, in theory, should have heightened excitement (and viewership) for the midseason premiere.

— “Talking Dead” followed “The Walking Dead” with a 1.47 rating and 3.59 million viewers.

Written by Brian Cantor

Brian Cantor is the editor-in-chief for Headline Planet. He has been a leading reporter in the music, movie, television and sporting spaces since 2002.

Brian's reporting has been cited by major websites like BuzzFeed, Billboard, the New Yorker and The Fader -- and shared by celebrities like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj.

Contact Brian at brian.cantor[at]headlineplanet.com.

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