After setting a series record with Sunday night’s Season 5 premiere, AMC’s zombie drama “The Walking Dead” took an even bigger bite in ratings in Live + 3 numbers, which take into account viewers who tuned in for the initial airing and over the next three days via DVR.
In Live + 3 ratings, the season premiere of “The Walking Dead” amassed 22.4 million total viewers, a 29 percent jump over the 17.3 million who tuned in for the initial airing. That’s also a 10 percent uptick from the Live + 3 numbers for the show’s Season 4 finale, which aired Oct. 13, 2013.
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In the 18-49 demographic most important to advertisers, Live + 3 numbers yielded 9.7 million viewers for the “Walking Dead” premiere, a 32 percent bump from the Live Plus Same Day numbers and an 8 percent bump over the Season 4 premiere.
The “Walking Dead” after-show “Talking Dead” also enjoyed a nice boost in Live + 3, climbing 13 percent in total viewers from Live Plus Same Day numbers, and a whopping 36 percent over the Live + 3 Day numbers for last season’s premiere. In the key demo, “Talking Dead” grew 15 percent over Live Plus Same Day numbers and 35 percent versus last season’s premiere in Live + 3.
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The “Walking Dead” season premiere hit a series high on Sunday, over the previous record that the Season 4 premiere set. It was also the highest-rated program in the 18-49 demo on all of television Sunday night, even beating out the typically dominant “Sunday Night Football.”