The Walking Dead Mid-Season Return Posts Series’ Largest Audience Yet; Watch It and a Talked About Scene Here!

Steve Barton |

Feb 11, 2013

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TV By the Number

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http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/02/11/the-walking-dead-premiere-delivers-largest-audience-in-series-history-with-12-3-million-viewers/169090/

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What’s that you say? You missed last night’s return of “The Walking Dead”? If so, you can watch it right here in its entirety after reading about the show’s ratings, which were through the roof!

From the Press Release:
Last night AMC’s mid-season premiere of “The Walking Dead” returned with its largest audience ever in series history, delivering 12.3 million viewers at the 9pm premiere. The previous record was 10.9 million viewers from the Season Three premiere on October 14, 2012. The episode is also the strongest telecast for a series in basic cable history for adults 18-49 with 7.7 million. These results shatter the hit series’ previous record with an increase of +6% (A18-49) over the October 14, 2012, Season Three premiere. “The Walking Dead” Season Three series average for adults 18-49 delivers 6.8 million, outperforming other television series season averages including “Modern Family,” ‘The Big Bang Theory,” “Two and a Half Men,” and “NCIS.” In addition to the 9pm premiere, the show encored at 11pm, 12midnight and 2am, delivering 16.6 million viewers for the night.

Following the 9pm premiere of “The Walking Dead,” AMC premiered a new episode of “Talking Dead” at 10pm. 4.1 Million viewers tuned in to the live show. Hosted by Chris Hardwick, “Talking Dead” is a companion series to “The Walking Dead” and features Hardwick and fans, actors, producers, and other TV enthusiasts discussing and dissecting that night’s “Dead” premiere. The series expands to a full hour with the final eight episodes of Season Three.

“When you look at numbers like this, the first thing that comes to mind is how grateful we are to the fans of this show. They embrace ‘The Walking Dead’ in a way that we wanted to believe was possible but we never take for granted,” said Charlie Collier, AMC’s president. “The cast and crew put everything they have into making this show. They’re a phenomenally talented group who truly give their all. We congratulate everyone involved.”

Key Nielsen Highlights for the Season Three B premiere of “The Walking Dead”:
– 9pm airing – 7.3 HH rating with 12.3 million viewers; a +40%/+51% increase respectively over last year’s Season 2B premiere
– 9pm airing – Adults 18-49 delivered 7.7 million viewers; a +44% increase over last year’s Season 2B premiere
– 9pm airing – Adults 25-54 delivered 6.7 million viewers; a +51% increase over last year’s Season 2B premiere.
– 9pm premiere, 11pm, 12midnight, and 2am airings grossed to 16.6 million viewers, 10.7 million Adults 18-49 and 8.9 million Adults 25-54

Now, for you stragglers who might not have caught the show last night, AMCtv.com is streaming the episode in its entirety for free. This is a one-time-only event and will not be happening with future episodes for the rest of this season. Watch it for the first time. Watch it again. Just do so quickly as it will only be available until Sunday, March 10th.

We have it in its entirety below along with a “Talked About” scene from the episode.

“The Walking Dead” Episode 3.09 – “The Suicide King” (aired 2/10/13)
Rick (Andrew Lincoln) tries to rescue a member of his group. Woodbury is in disarray after a recent attack. New guests raise concerns at the prison. Written by Evan Reilly; directed by Lesli Linka Glatter.

To stay up-to-the-minute on all things walker related, follow @WalkingDead_AMC on Twitter and visit “The Walking Dead” on Facebook. For more be sure to hit up the official “The Walking Dead” page on AMC.com.