“THE WALKING DEAD” Attracts 15.2 Million Viewers For The Night
Series Delivers 10.5 Million Viewers at 9PM Premiere, Up 58% Over Last Year’s Mid-Season Finale
Second Half of Season 3 Premieres on Sunday, February 10th
“TALKING DEAD” Attracts 2.2 Million Viewers and Returns For an Hour on February 10th
New York — December 3, 2012 — AMC’s “The Walking Dead” is the first cable series in television history to reign as the biggest show of the fall season among Adult 18-49 rating, beating all broadcast and cable entertainment series including “The Voice,” “Modern Family,” “X Factor,” “Two and a Half Men,” “The Big Bang Theory” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” Last night, the 9PM premiere of “The Walking Dead’s” mid-season finale delivered 10.5 million viewers. The series encored at 10PM and then again at midnight, delivering an additional 3.6 million & 1.1 million viewers respectively, totaling 15.2 million viewers for the night. With Live plus 7, “The Walking Dead” adds another 3.4 million viewers a week on average. “The Walking Dead” Season 3 to date reigns as the number one ad supported drama series in basic cable history among total viewers, adults 18-49, adults 25-54, adults 18-34, men 18-49, men 25-54 and men 18-34. AMC resumes the final eight episodes of “The Walking Dead” season three on Sunday, February 10th at 9pm EST.
In addition, the season three mid-season finale of “Talking Dead” at 11pm attracted 2.2 million viewers. The live after show, hosted by Chris Hardwick, expands to a one-hour program on Sunday, February 10th at 10pm EST immediately following “The Walking Dead.” Embassy Row’s Michael Davies and Jen Patton serve as executive producers and Brandon Monk is co-executive producer.
Source: Nielsen. Live+SD. M-Sa 8P-11P/Su 7P-11P. The Walking Dead Finale 12/2/12; Season 3A 10/14-12/2/12. 12/13 Fall Season to Date (11/29/12) vs. Previous Fall Seasons To Date Broadcast & Cable. 9/13/93-12/2/12, Broadcast and Ad Supported Cable, Trackage Level Data. US RTG A18-49. Excluding Sports. Qual Avail Upon Request.
“Representing both the studio and the network as AMC does on this project, I speak for so many when I say 'thank you' and congratulations to everyone involved,” said Charlie Collier, AMC’s president. “The records that ‘The Walking Dead’ shattered today represent an enormous achievement of which we are so proud."
Key Nielsen Highlights for the mid-season finale of “The Walking Dead:
- 9pm: 6.5 HH rating, +44% vs. season 2 mid season finale
- 9pm: 10.5 million viewers, +58% vs. season 2 mid season finale
- 9pm: 6.9 million Adults 18-49, +54% vs. season 2 mid season finale
- 9pm: 6.0 million Adults 25-54, +52 vs. season 2 mid season finale
- 9pm,10pm and midnight encores: Grossed to 15.2 million viewers
Key Nielsen Highlights for the mid season finale of “Talking Dead”:
- 11pm: 1.5 HH rating with 2.2 million viewers, +67%/+110% vs. season 1 mid-season finale
- 11pm: 1.5 million Adults 18-49, +111% vs. season 1 mid-season finale
- 11pm: 1.5 million Adults 25-54, +117% vs. season 1 mid-season finale
Hailed by EW “the greatest thriller ever produced for television,” “The Walking Dead” currently has over 12 and a half million likes on Facebook. “The Walking Dead” is cable's most mentioned show according to Trendrr.tv, out ranking WWE’s Monday Night Raw on USA and ESPN's Monday Night Football each week. The series ranks 1st each week vs. all cable. Last week, “The Walking Dead” ranked #1 on television’s Top Social TV Charts. “Talking Dead” ranked #11. “The Walking Dead” also reins #1 for the week for Cable’s Top 20 weekly ranking by General Sentiment.
For the past two years, “The Walking Dead” has received the Emmy® Award for Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup (2011/2012). Based on the comic book series written by Robert Kirkman, “The Walking Dead” tells the story of the months and years that follow the zombie apocalypse. It follows a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes, who travel in search of a safe and secure home.
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About AMC
AMC reigns as the only cable network in history to ever win the Emmy® Award for Outstanding Drama Series four years in a row. Whether commemorating favorite films from every genre and decade or creating acclaimed original programming, the AMC experience is an uncompromising celebration of great stories. AMC’s original stories include “Mad Men,” “Breaking Bad,” “The Walking Dead” and “Hell on Wheels.” AMC further demonstrates its commitment to the art of storytelling with its slate of unscripted original series, as well as curated movie franchises like AMC’s Can’t Get Enough and AMC’s Crazy About. AMC is owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc. and its sister networks include IFC, Sundance Channel and WE tv. AMC is available across all platforms, including on-air, online, on demand and mobile. AMC: Story Matters HereSM.
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