Basic cable’s crown jewel, The Walking Dead, premiered its eighth season Sunday night. And while it’s ratings heyday is now behind it, the zombie drama still obliterated all but the NFL in its return.
Initial Nielsen numbers give the episode an average 11.
4 million viewers, 6.5 million of them adults 18-49, which translates to a 5.0 rating in the key demo. Comparing those stats to the comparable premiere a year ago illustrates a dramatic drop, 43 percent among total viewers, but one that also isn’t entirely fair. The seventh-season premiere of The Walking Dead proved to be a ratings anomaly. Thanks to interest in a cliff-hanger, it neared series highs for a live-plus-same day telecast — averaging 17 million viewers and 10.7 million adults 18-49.The drama subsequently saw its viewership suffer from some fatigue. Though it still recoups a great deal with live-plus-three and live-plus-seven day lifts, as most scripted fare does, the seventh season went on to average a total 16.4 million viewers (10.3 million adults 18-49) once all views were factored. That marked the second consecutive season…
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