Fans may not have been thrilled with the way season six of AMC’s blockbuster The Walking Dead ended, but they still watched in droves.
The zombie series that started it all finished its season as the top show on TV for the fourth year in a row, with 18.4 million viewers tuning into the 90-minute finale on Sunday, April 3. That included 11.5 million adults 18-49, or a 9.1 rating, and 11.7 million adults 25-54, in the live-plus-three-day ratings, according to Nielsen Media Research. AMC expects the finale to be viewed another one million times on digital platforms.
The show grew 30-plus percent in all of those demographics compared to its live airing at 9 p.m. ET/PT, reports AMC.
The finale of Talking Dead, the after-show led by Chris Hardwick that follows the series, delivered 7.4 million viewers, including 4.5 million adults 18-49 and 4.7 million adults 25-54, also in the live-plus-three-day ratings. Across the entire season, Talking Dead averaged 5.9 million viewers and 3.6 million adults 18-49 in live-plus-three.
“We know how rare it is to have the number-one show on television for four years running and to share a season six finale on AMC with more than 18 million fans, to say nothing of the passionate and appreciated conversations that followed. So, as we close this season, first and foremost, a heartfelt ‘thank you’ is on all of our minds,” said Charlie Collier, president of AMC, SundanceTV and AMC Studios in a statement. “Thank you to everyone who makes The Walking Dead possible, from those working in the Los Angeles-Senoia-New York ‘zombie triangle’ to our fans around the world. We now put down Lucille for a while and leave the ‘at bats’ to baseball until our October return.”
The Walking Dead is the top-rated show on television so far this year among adults 18-49 in live-plus-three-day viewing, even beating NBC’s Sunday Night Football, which averaged a 7.5 rating and 9.5 million viewers in the demo in live plus three.
See the charts below for additional rankings:
Current live+3 season average rankers for all of television (cable and broadcast) among adults 18-49
All Telecasts
A18-49 Program Name US AA % (000)
AMC WALKING DEAD 9.1 11,493
NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL 7.5 9,505
FOX EMPIRE 6.7 8,500
CBS NFLN THU NT FOOTBALL 5.7 7,282
CBS BIG BANG THEORY, THE 5.6 7,050
NBC SUNDAY NIGHT NFL PRE-KICK 5.4 6,795
AMC FEAR THE WALKING DEAD 5.2 6,612
ESPN COLL FTBL BOWL STUDIO L 4.8 6,129
ESPN NFL REGULAR SEASON L 4.5 5,726
FOX X-FILES 4.3 5,448
Source: Nielsen L+3 (09/21/2015 - 04/03/2016). Excludes repeats, specials. Top 10 Listed. Rank on (000). 2+ TC
Entertainment Only
A18-49 Program Name US AA % (000)
AMC WALKING DEAD 9.1 11,493
FOX EMPIRE 6.7 8,500
CBS BIG BANG THEORY, THE 5.6 7,050
AMC FEAR THE WALKING DEAD 5.2 6,612
FOX X-FILES 4.3 5,448
ABC MODERN FAMILY 3.9 4,945
NBC VOICE 3.7 4,716
ABC GREY’S ANATOMY 3.5 4,447
CBS 60 MINUTES 3.5 4,385
ABC SCANDAL 3.4 4,345
Source: Nielsen L+3 (09/21/2015 - 04/03/2016). Excludes repeats, specials, sports. Top 10 Listed. Rank on (000). 2+ TC
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