20.8 Million Viewers Tune In for THE WALKING DEAD Season 7 Premiere

Following months of speculation and curiosity regarding who would have a close encounter with Lucille, over 20 million viewers tuned in to AMC on Sunday night to get the blood-splattered answers to their questions on The Walking Dead Season 7 premiere.

Press Release: NEW YORK, NY, October 28, 2016 – AMC’s “The Walking Dead” returned for its seventh season Sunday night, solidified as the number one show on television by a wide and expanding margin for a fifth consecutive season, with strong growth from the season six premiere and finale in total viewers and key demographics. An expanded 90-minute episode of “Talking Dead,” presented live from the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in front of 2,500 fans, became the highest-rated “Talking Dead” ever among adults 25-54 and second highest in total viewers and adults 18-49.

In Nielsen live+3 ratings, “The Walking Dead” season seven premiere delivered 20.8 million total viewers, 13.2 million adults 18-49 (a national rating of 10.3) and 13 million adults 25-54 (a national rating of 10.8), growth of 7 percent in total viewers from the season six premiere, 3 percent in adults 18-49 and 7 percent in adults 25-54.  From the season six finale, the premiere grew 13 percent in total viewers, 14 percent in adults 18-49 and 11 percent in adults 25-54.

In Nielsen live+3 ratings, “Talking Dead,” the live aftershow hosted by Chris Hardwick that follows every episode of the “Walking Dead” and the #2 show on cable television, delivered 8.7 million total viewers, 5.4 million adults 18-49 (a national rating of 4.2) and 5.5 million adults 25-54 (a national rating of 4.6), up 35 percent, 29 percent and 38 percent, respectively, from the “Talking Dead” season six premiere.

“When millions of fans come together at almost exactly the same time to share a story – a story elevated, that viewers anticipate and have time to let sink in and discuss, moments we collectively feel – it’s as good as television gets and a reminder of the power of weekly storytelling,” said Charlie Collier, president of AMC, SundanceTV and AMC Studios. “This week, ‘The Walking Dead’ once again provided that for all of us. Rest in peace, Glenn and Abraham. You will never be forgotten.”

In addition to the linear viewing, “The Walking Dead” premiere saw record viewership on digital platforms, generating nearly 2.5 million views through this morning.

Key Nielsen Highlights for the premiere of “The Walking Dead” (L+3) 

Episode 701, 9 p.m., Sunday, October 23

20.8 million viewers, up 22% from live/same day (growth of 3.8 million)

13.2 million Adults 18-49, up 23% from live/same day (growth of 2.5 million)

13.0 million Adults 25-54, up 24% from live/same day (growth of 2.5 million)

Key Nielsen Highlights for the finale of “Talking Dead” (L+3) 

Episode 701, 10:06 p.m. (90 minute special) Sunday, October 23

8.7 million viewers, up 15% from live/same day (growth of 1.1 million)

5.4 million Adults 18-49, up 15% from live/same day (growth of 702k)

5.5 million Adults 25-54, up 16% from live/same day (growth of 770k)

Current live+3 season telecast rankers for television (cable and broadcast)

Broadcast Date	Originator	Program Name	P18-49 (000) L+3
10/23/16	AMC	THE WALKING DEAD	13,193
09/25/16	NBC	NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL	9,731
10/02/16	NBC	NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL	8,603
09/22/16	CBS	CBS+NFLN THU NT FOOTBALL	7,794
10/23/16	NBC	NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL	7,731
10/09/16	NBC	NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL	7,553
09/25/16	NBC	SUNDAY NIGHT NFL PRE-KICK	7,088
09/21/16	FOX	EMPIRE	7,014
09/19/16	CBS	BIG BANG THEORY, THE	6,896
10/09/16	NBC	SUNDAY NIGHT NFL PRE-KICK	6,675

 

Broadcast Date	Originator	Program Name	P25-54 (000) L+3
10/23/16	AMC	THE WALKING DEAD	12,965
09/25/16	NBC	NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL	10,446
10/02/16	NBC	NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL	9,136
09/19/16	CBS	BIG BANG THEORY, THE	8,822
10/23/16	NBC	NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL	8,492
09/22/16	CBS	CBS+NFLN THU NT FOOTBALL	8,417
10/10/16	CBS	BIG BANG THEORY, THE	8,239
09/26/16	CBS	BIG BANG THEORY, THE	8,232
10/03/16	CBS	BIG BANG THEORY, THE	8,066
10/09/16	NBC	NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL	8,002

Source: NMR L+3, 2016-2017 Broadcast Season (9/19/16-10/23/16), Prime (8P-11P)

“The Walking Dead” season seven premiere also became a major event in social media, becoming the most social series program of 2016, according to Nielsen. Fans tuned in and tweeted 4.6 million times globally and 1.8 million times in the U.S. (according to Twitter data), making the premiere the top tweeted show of 2016. Furthermore, "The Walking Dead" secured not only the #1 spot on Nielsen Social, but 9 out of the top 10 hashtags for the night with 7.4 million unique fans and 16.9 million interactions across Facebook and Twitter (Nielsen).

An AMC Studios production, “The Walking Dead” is executive produced by Scott M. Gimple, Robert Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, David Alpert, Greg Nicotero, and Tom Luse.

About AMC

AMC is home to some of the most popular and acclaimed programs on television. AMC was the first basic cable network to ever win the Emmy^® Award for Outstanding Drama Series with “Mad Men” in 2008, which then went on to win the coveted award four years in a row, before “Breaking Bad” won it in 2013 and 2014. The network’s series “The Walking Dead” is the highest-rated series in cable history and the number one show on television among adults 18-49 for the last four years.  AMC’s other current original drama series include “Better Call Saul,” “Hell on Wheels,” “Turn: Washington’s Spies,” “Halt and Catch Fire,” “Humans,” “Fear the Walking Dead,” “Into the Badlands,” “The Night Manager,” “Preacher,” and the forthcoming “The Son,” “The Terror” and “Lodge 49.” AMC also explores authentic worlds and discussion with original shows like “Talking Dead,” “The Making of The Mob,” “Comic Book Men,” “Ride with Norman Reedus” and “The American West.” AMC is owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc. and its sister networks include IFC, SundanceTV, BBC America and WE tv. AMC is available across all platforms, including on-air, online, on demand and mobile.