Numbers Overload: The Walking Tops Pretty Much Everything

The Walking Dead already broke records with its Season 4 debut and topped the Nielsen Twitter and GetGlue charts.  It was also the Number 1 cable broadcast for the period of October 7th through 13th and it beat out everything on the broadcast nets rating-wise with the exception of Sunday Night Football.  If that wasn’t enough, a repeat of the Season 3 finale on Sunday night was the sixth most watch show on cable for that period and the discussion show The Talking Dead which followed the Season 4 premiere ranked at Number 12 among cable shows.  It doesn’t show up in the DVR numbers below, but those are on a delay and represent activity for the period of September 23rd through 29th.  When we do get the DVR numbers for The Walking Dead’s premiere week, it wouldn’t surprise me if it tops that list as well.  That franchise has become a powerhouse for AMC and it could help unseat the broadcast networks long reign over the Prime Time hours on television.

An additional note on the numbers below: all three of the broadcast network genre shows in the Top 25 actually slipped with their ratings for the week, yet moved up in the rankings.  That indicates an overall drop in viewership on the broadcast nets for the week but a gain for those shows in relative audience. 

Top 25 Oct 7th to 13th:

Cable Networks

Total Viewers:  Live + Same Day viewing from the overnights
1. The Walking Dead (Season 4 Premiere) (AMC) 16.1 Million / 8.2 Rating
6. The Walking Dead (Season 3 Finale Repeat) (AMC) 5.7 Million
7. American Horror Story: Coven (FX) 5.5 Million
12. The Talking Dead (AMC) 5.1 Million

Broadcast Networks

Ratings:  18-49 demographic in Live + Same Day viewing from the overnights
12. Agents of SHIELD (ABC) 2.9 Rating (Prior Week – #14, 3.3 Rating)
16. Sleepy Hollow (FOX) 2.8 Rating (Prior Week – #18, 3.0 Rating)
23. Once Upon A Time (ABC) 2.4 Rating (Prior Week – #25, 2.6 Rating)

Total Viewers:  Live + Same Day viewing from the overnights
10. Person of Interest (CBS) 11.7 million (Prior Week – #12, 12.4 MM)

Live+7 Day DVR Ratings: 

Top 25 Ratings Increase for the Week of September 23rd to 29th
2. Agents of SHIELD: Rating Increase – 2.3, Final Rating – 7.0
4. Sleepy Hollow: Rating Increase – 2.2, Final Rating – 5.3
16. Once Upon A Time: Rating Increase – 1.2, Final Rating – 3.4
23. Revolution: Rating Increase – 1.1, Final Rating – 2.9

Recent Posts:

Cancellation Watch: Ratings Decline for Agents of SHIELD Slows, but Could a Shake-Up Still be Coming?

Social Network Rankings: The Walking Dead (Of Course) Tops Nielsen Twitter Rankings and GetGlue

Cancellation Watch: The Walking Dead is Breaking Records Yet Again, But Once Upon A Time in Wonderland Tanks 


Why Were They Cancelled? 
The Plight of Science Fiction and Fantasy Television in the Face of the Unforgiving Nielsens and Networks

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Author: admin

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