‘The Walking Dead’ Beats the Final Week of the Winter Olympics, As Carl Winds Up on Ice — Ratings Watch
First, the bad news: “The Walking Dead” is in ratings decline. It’s a fact of life for aging shows, and the zombie drama is now in its eighth season. The second half of the season premiered on Sunday, February 25 with a 5.1 rating among adults 18-49 in Live + 3 data — down dramatically from last year’s winter premiere, which averaged a 7.7 rating on Feb. 12, 2017.
That episode last year averaged 15.9 million viewers after three days of DVR and VOD use, compared to 11.3 million this year. That’s a sharp decline.
But make no mistake, “The Walking Dead” is still a formidable player for AMC. The show was the No. 1 program of the week in the demo, beating NBC’s Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony in head-to-head competition, but actually beating every night of the Winter Games in its final week. Companion series “Talking Dead” and an extended repeat of the fall finale, with additional footage, also made the week’s Top 25 ranker.
Reality TV once again ruled much of the week, with “Celebrity Big Brother” and “The Bachelor” taking up a number of spots. Also making it on the ranker: Univision’s “Primero Lo Nuestro.”
Meanwhile, on Xfinity’s ranker of top video on-demand shows last week, freshman dramas “The Chi” and “The Alienist” continue their climb, while newcomers include BET’s “The Death Row Chronicles.”
Here are this week’s rankers:
Adults 18-49 ranker, week ending Feb. 25, 2018:
|
RANK |
SHOW & NETWORK |
LIVE+3 RATING |
WATCHED RATING |
|
1 |
The Walking Dead AMC |
5.1 |
3.6 |
|
2 |
Winter Olympics Tuesday Prime NBC |
4.1 |
4.0 |
|
3 |
Winter Olympics Monday Prime NBC |
3.9 |
3.8 |
|
4 |
Winter Olympics Thursday Prime NBC |
3.6 |
3.5 |
|
5 |
Winter Olympics Wednesday Prime NBC |
3.4 |
3.3 |
|
6 |
Winter Olympics Closing Ceremonies NBC |
3.1 |
3.0 |
|
7 |
Winter Olympics Friday Prime NBC |
3.0 |
2.9 |
|
8 |
The Bachelor ABC |
2.1 |
1.7 |
|
9 |
Talking Dead AMC |
1.8 |
1.5 |
|
tie |
Celebrity Big Brother Wednesday CBS |
1.8 |
1.4 |
|
11 |
Celebrity Big Brother Sunday CBS |
1.7 |
1.4 |
|
12 |
The Bachelor: Women Tell All ABC |
1.6 |
1.0 |
|
tie |
Celebrity Big Brother Monday CBS |
1.6 |
1.3 |
|
tie |
Celebrity Big Brother Friday CBS |
1.6 |
1.1 |
|
tie |
A.P. Bio NBC |
1.6 |
1.4 |
|
16 |
The Walking Dead (Extended Fall Finale) AMC |
1.4 |
1.3 |
|
tie |
The Big Bang Theory CBS |
1.4 |
1.3 |
|
18 |
WWE Raw USA |
1.3 |
1.1 |
|
tie |
Real Housewives of Atlanta Bravo |
1.3 |
0.9 |
|
tie |
The Amazing Race CBS |
1.3 |
0.9 |
|
tie |
Young Sheldon CBS |
1.3 |
1.2 |
|
tie |
Teen Mom MTV |
1.3 |
0.7 |
|
tie |
PyeongChang Gold NBC |
1.3 |
1.3 |
|
tie |
Premio Lo Nuestro (Thursday) Univision |
1.3 |
1.2 |
|
tie |
Love and Hip Hop 8 VH1 |
1.3 |
1.0 |
| Adults 18-49; ratings points. Source: Nielsen Media Research |
Total viewers ranker, week ending Feb. 25, 2018:
|
RANK |
SHOW & NETWORK |
LIVE+3 |
WATCHED |
|
1 |
Winter Olympics Tuesday Prime NBC |
17.93 |
17.53 |
|
2 |
Winter Olympics Monday Prime NBC |
16.91 |
16.37 |
|
3 |
Winter Olympics Thursday Prime NBC |
15.83 |
15.25 |
|
4 |
Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony NBC |
15.15 |
14.79 |
|
5 |
Winter Olympics Wednesday Prime NBC |
14.47 |
14.17 |
|
6 |
Winter Olympics Friday Prime NBC |
13.30 |
12.90 |
|
7 |
The Walking Dead AMC |
11.27 |
8.30 |
|
8 |
60 Minutes CBS |
8.67 |
8.33 |
|
9 |
The Big Bang Theory 8 p.m. CBS |
8.24 |
7.91 |
|
10 |
NCIS CBS |
7.53 |
7.20 |
|
11 |
The Bachelor ABS |
7.42 |
6.29 |
|
12 |
Young Sheldon CBS |
7.34 |
7.04 |
|
13 |
PyeongChang Gold NBC |
7.05 |
6.98 |
| 14 |
The Big Bang Theory 9 p.m. CBS |
6.78 |
6.36 |
|
15 |
Celebrity Big Brother Wednesday CBS |
6.53 |
5.54 |
|
16 |
A.P. Bio NBC |
6.48 |
5.89 |
|
17 |
Celebrity Big Brother Monday CBS |
6.12 |
5.11 |
|
18 |
Celebrity Big Brother Sunday CBS |
6.08 |
5.22 |
|
19 |
The Amazing Race CBS |
6.02 |
4.35 |
|
20 |
Celebrity Big Brother Friday CBS |
5.95 |
4.65 |
|
21 |
Bull CBS |
5.80 |
5.48 |
|
22 |
NCIS: New Orleans CBS |
5.68 |
5.31 |
|
23 |
The Bachelor: Women Tell All ABC |
5.53 |
4.27 |
|
24 |
America’s Funniest Home Videos ABC |
5.36 |
5.28 |
|
25 |
Mom CBS |
5.14 |
4.88 |
| Total viewers; in millions. Source: Nielsen Media Research |
Here is this week’s Xfinity On Demand ranker:
Top 20 TV Series, Feb. 19-25, 2018:
|
RANK |
SHOW |
NETWORK |
|
1 |
This Is Us |
NBC |
|
2 |
Game of Thrones |
HBO |
|
3 |
Homeland |
Showtime |
|
4 |
Celebrity Big Brother |
CBS |
|
5 |
The Bachelor Winter Games |
ABC |
|
6 |
The Simpsons |
Fox |
|
7 |
The Chi |
Showtime |
|
8 |
The Alienist |
TNT |
|
9 |
9-1-1 |
Fox |
|
10 |
Divorce |
HBO |
|
11 |
The Good Doctor |
ABC |
|
12 |
Shameless |
Showtime |
|
13 |
The Bachelor |
ABC |
|
14 |
Married at First Sight |
Lifetime |
|
15 |
Family Guy |
Adult Swim |
|
16 |
Teen Mom O.G. |
MTV |
|
17 |
Keeping Up with the Kardashians |
E! |
|
18 |
The Death Row Chronicles |
BET |
|
19 |
Counterpart |
Starz |
|
20 |
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story |
FX |
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