The Walking Dead finishes the year at the top of the ratings again
By Sonya Iryna
![Christian Serratos as Rosita Espinosa, Sonequa Martin-Green as Sasha Williams, Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes, Katelyn Nacon as Enid, Lauren Cohan as Maggie Greene, Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Tom Payne as Paul 'Jesus' Rovia - The Walking Dead _ Season 7, Episode 8 - Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC Christian Serratos as Rosita Espinosa, Sonequa Martin-Green as Sasha Williams, Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes, Katelyn Nacon as Enid, Lauren Cohan as Maggie Greene, Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Tom Payne as Paul 'Jesus' Rovia - The Walking Dead _ Season 7, Episode 8 - Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/7dcf5a269fed58de6fa3bbccd6f1fc0e40bb3fd371f416bb3c33f367c2ac02c0.jpg)
Despite a dip in live views The Walking Dead is still the most popular show on television. And Season 7B is shaping up to be even stronger than the first half of this season.
Hopefully the latest round of ratings numbers that have been released will be enough to finally silence critics of The Walking Dead. All season long critics and pundits have been looking only at the Sunday night broadcast live views for The Walking Dead ratings. And those live views have dropped. So then the critics and pundits and would-be boycotters start screaming that the show is dying.
But The Walking Dead, much like the walkers on the show, cannot be stopped. It is true that Sunday night broadcast views have dropped. But that’s true for every TV show. Cable TV is struggling to adapt to a marketplace where people have other options for viewing. DVR views and streaming views have increased dramatically.
The Walking Dead Season 7A averaged 16 million views per episode. And it’s just not AMC that came up with that figure. Look at the actual live views, plus the Live+3 and Live+7 views per episode. Each episode consistently gained 4-6 million views per episode when the additional views were counted. The numbers don’t lie. The Walking Dead is far and away the most watched show on television.
The Walking Dead Season 7B
The first half of Season 7 was different than past seasons. Negan is a villain unlike any other the group has faced before. Most of the season was uncomfortable for fans to watch. When it wasn’t emotionally crushing them, that is.
Fans have been a little uncertain how to take the first part of Season 7. They are struggling with the loss of Glenn and Abe. They have not been happy seeing Rick in a subservient position. The group has been scattered and divided and the fans have been off balance. But they are still watching.
And now that Rick has his fight back they’re going to be watching even more. Team Family has come through the darkness of Season 7A and they are getting ready to fight. As they regain their hope and start to strategize their attack on Negan fans will be even more invested in the show.
The Walking Dead Isn’t Giving Up The Top Spot
Live views may continue to drop even with the exciting Season 7B that’s coming. That’s an industry wide problem. It’s not a reflection of The Walking Dead or how fans feel about it. But the numbers will probably stay consistently high enough to keep The Walking Dead on top. After dominating the ratings for the last five years the show isn’t slowing down at all.