The Walking Dead season finale ratings jump in Live+3 views
By Sonya Iryna
All season long The Walking Dead ratings have been controversial but the Live+3 views for the season finale prove that the program’s ratings are still high enough to dominate all other shows.
The Walking Dead season 7 finale ratings prove that the low live ratings are not a fluke. They’re not unusual. And they don’t mean that the show isn’t as popular as ever.
The season 7 finale had 11.1 million live views, which is low for a season finale. But that 11.1 million figure is perfectly consistent with the other episodes this season that have averaged between 10.5 and 12 million live views.
All the episodes in The Walking Dead season 7 saw a huge increase in ratings numbers once the Live+3 and Live+7 views were counted. When those extended views are counted each episode jumps to an average of about 15 million views.
The season 7 finale, “The First Day Of The Rest of Your Life” had a 38% increase in total views in 3 days of extended views. Deadline reported that the actual number of views for the season finale increased by 4.4 million in just the 3 days following the original airing. The Live+3 total rating for the season finale is 15.5 million views.
Season 5 and Season 6 Finales
The Walking Dead season 7 finale had about 3 million fewer live views than the season 6 finale, “Last Day On Earth”. But, the season 6 finale had about a million fewer live views than the season 5 finale. So it’s not unusual for the season finales to dip a little in live views.
What matters when it comes to getting an accurate picture of The Walking Dead ratings isn’t the live views. It’s the extended view that matter. Live+3 and Live+7 ratings are a much better indicator of how many people are watching the show.
And the extended view numbers have been remarkably consistent throughout season 7. They show without a doubt that The Walking Dead still has a massive fanbase. And that it’s still far and away the most popular show on TV. No other cable show even comes close the ratings of The Walking Dead.
Why The Live Ratings Dropped
There are a couple of factors contributing to the drop in live ratings for The Walking Dead. One has to do with the show, and one doesn’t. The show is changing and evolving. Because of that change in direction the show is going to lose some fans. But that’s normal, and those losses aren’t really enough to have a meaningful impact on the ratings.
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The other factor, which does have a meaningful impact on the ratings, is that more and more people are getting rid of cable. They’re waiting until the next day to watch the episode online, or they’re waiting a couple of days to watch it on DVR If they have cable.
In addition, there was some stiff competition that night. Many fans of The Walking Dead may have watched WrestleMania 33 or Major League Baseball live instead of AMC, leading to a big chunk of viewers moving to the +3 or +5 group.
Also, the number of households that are subscribing to cable TV is dropping steadily, almost a million every quarter. The latest estimates are that 1 in 5 households no longer has cable TV service. That has had a huge impact on the ratings of shows across the board, not just The Walking Dead.
The Reigning Champ
The fact is that The Walking Dead has remained the highest rated show on TV for the last five years. Despite blips in the ratings and overall declines in TV watching the show still gets an average of 15-16 million views per episode and has for years.
Next: The MVP from the season 7 finale
The ratings will fluctuate because of external factors but they prove that The Walking Dead is still the reigning champ on cable TV.