The Walking Dead ratings for The Other Side beat all competitors even the NCAA

Maggie Greene (Lauren Cohan) and Enid (Katelyn Nacon) in Episode 14Photo by Gene Page/AMC
Maggie Greene (Lauren Cohan) and Enid (Katelyn Nacon) in Episode 14Photo by Gene Page/AMC /
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The Walking Dead continues to rule the ratings as “The Other Side” beats out the NCAA and every other show to remain on top.

It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that The Walking Dead is still the number one show on cable TV. Ratings for the March 19th episode “The Other Side” easily beat the NCAA tournament on TNT.

“The Other Side” had 10.32 million live views, which is about the same as all the other episodes so far this season. Except for the season 7 premiere each episode of The Walking Dead in season 7 has gotten an average of about 11 million live views. After the Live+3 and Live+7 ratings are counted the ratings jump by between 3-5 million views.

The trend that the show has had of picking up a few million more views in the extended views continues with “The Other Side”. It picked up 3.5 million views in 3 days and rose to 13.8 million views in Live+3 views. It beat the NCAA tournament on TNT by more than double in extended views.

The live views for the second last episode of the season, “Something They Need” continued the ongoing live view pattern at 10.5 million. Based on the way that the other episodes this season increase in extended views “Something They Need” should top out somewhere near 13 million after the Live+3 views are counted.

The Walking Dead Season Finale

It’s hard to believe that the 7th season of The Walking Dead is already drawing to a close. But the season finale, “The First Day Of The Rest Of Your Life” airs on Sunday, April 2nd. The ratings for the season finale typically rise a little bit in live views. So it won’t be surprising if the live views for the season 7 finale stay in the 10-12 million range.

Past season finales have not seen the huge jump that the season premieres have. The season 5 finale had 15.78 million views after all views were counted. And the season 6 finale came in at just over 14 million views after the final view tally. So it’s likely that the season 7 finale will come in somewhere around there after all the views are counted.

Consistently High Ratings

Throughout season 7 various sites have proclaimed that falling ratings predicted the certain demise of The Walking Dead. But the actual numbers prove that the show’s ratings are remarkably consistent. It hasn’t even come close to losing its position as the number one show on cable TV.

Critics have complained long and loud about season 7 saying that Negan is ruining the show and that the show is losing the edge that it had. This has been a different kind of season, that’s true. It’s a transitional season where the story is shifting. Walkers are no longer the biggest threat. The survivors are finding a little stability and starting to put down roots and create solid communities. And they are facing a different kind of danger.

More from Undead Walking

If the show didn’t evolve past the survival stage it would quickly become boring. The ongoing story and the new challenges that the survivors are facing are what keeps it interesting. No matter what challenges they face the survivors continue to strengthen the bond between them and try to redefine what living means in The Walking Dead world. Their story of survival, loss, and rebirth is far from over. And the ratings prove it.