“THE WALKING DEAD” SEASON 7 MID-SEASON PREMIERE DELIVERS 15.9 MILLION TOTAL VIEWERS

RISE UP!

TELEVISION’S #1 PROGRAM RETURNS FOR THE SECOND HALF OF ITS SEVENTH SEASON WITH INCREASES IN TOTAL VIEWERS AND KEY DEMOS FROM THE MID-SEASON FINALE IN DECEMBER

MID-SEASON PREMIERE DELIVERS 15.9 MILLION TOTAL VIEWERS, 9.9 MILLION ADULTS 18-49 AND 10 MILLION ADULTS 25-54 IN NIELSEN LIVE+3 RATINGS 

#1 SHOW ON TELEVISION FOR FIFTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR UP 5 PERCENT IN TOTAL VIEWERS AND 3 PERCENT IN ADULTS 18-49 FROM DECEMBER’S MID-SEASON FINALE

“TALKING DEAD” REMAINS TELEVISION’S #1 TALK SHOW WITH 5.6 MILLION VIEWERS AND 3.2 MILLION ADULTS 18-49 IN NIELSEN LIVE+3 RATINGS

NEW YORK, NY, February 17, 2017 – “The Walking Dead” returned Sunday night for the second half of its seventh season with increases in total viewers and key demos from December’s mid-season finale. Sunday night’s return delivered 15.9 million total viewers, 9.9 million adults 18-49 and 10 million adults 25-54 in Nielsen live+3 ratings. Total viewers were up 5 percent from December, adults 18-49 increased 3 percent and adults 25-54 increased 5 percent.

Talking Dead remains television’s #1 talk show, returning with 5.6 million total viewers, 3.2 adults 18-49 and 3.4 adults 25-54 in Nielsen live+3 ratings.

“Whether you consider ‘The Walking Dead’ a survivor or an empire, it is gratifying to see the show return with such a big bang, and not just in theory – ratings increases from December’s finale in an environment in which growth, when measured and reported, can feel like something of a stranger thing,” said Charlie Collier, president of AMC, SundanceTV and AMC Studios. “This is us on Sunday nights, going up against the best of television, the NFL, NBA and big-ticket special events like this week’s Grammys, and yet Gimple and Kirkman are still holding the crown. Thanks to the modern family that gives voice to this remarkable show, #1 on television for five years in a row and, with that said, it’s actually a franchise we are running and evaluating far beyond weekly Nielsen report cards. To take a shorter-term view of ‘The Walking Dead’ would be scandal.”

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

Episode 709, Sunday, February 12

15.9 million viewers, up 33% from live/same day (growth of 3.9 million)

9.9 million Adults 18-49, up 35% from live/same day (growth of 2.6 million)

10.0 million Adults 25-54, up 36% from live/same day (growth of 2.6 million)

Key Nielsen Highlights for the mid-season premiere of “Talking Dead” (L+3)

Episode 709, Sunday, February 12

5.6 million viewers

3.2 million Adults 18-49

3.4 million Adults 25-54

“The Walking Dead” continues to far outpace everything else on television in delivering 18-49 and 25-54 viewers. Current season averages for the top ten shows on television are:

All Programs, Ranked on Live+3 P18-49:

Nielsen, 2016-2017 Broadcast Season (9/19/2016 – 2/12/2017), Prime 8P-11P, Live+3, P18-49, excludes 1 t/c programs and programs < 15 min

Excluding sports & news, Ranked on Live+3 P18-49:

Nielsen, 2016-2017 Broadcast Season (9/19/2016 – 2/12/2017), Prime 8P-11P, Live+3, P18-49, excludes sports, news, 1 t/c programs and programs < 15 min

Key Social Highlights for the mid-season premiere of “The Walking Dead”

• The mid-season premiere episode of “The Walking Dead” was the #1 most social series episode of the week, with 2.6 million interactions on Facebook and Twitter.
• Among all primetime series, “The Walking Dead” mid-season premiere episode was the most social episode of 2017 so far, with more than double the interactions than the next-closest episode (premiere of The Bachelor, which had 934K).

Source: Nielsen Social Content Ratings, 2/6 – 2/12 Episodes, Linear Metrics, Nielsen Social Content Ratings, Primetime Series Episodes, 1/1 – 2/12, Ranked by Total Interactions

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.