File this news under news that shocks no one. The ratings for The Walking Dead are huge. Which makes sense, since the show is consistently the number one rated (and watched) cable show over the last few years. Sunday’s premiere episode, in which Negan killed (warning: spoiler alert) fan-favorites Glenn and Abraham, became the second-most watched episode in the show’s history. According to TV by the Numbers, the show was watched by 17.03 million viewers and scored a massive 8.4 rating in the key 18 to 49.
The most-watched episode of the show was the season five premiere episode, which was watched by 17.29 million and scored a 8.7 in the 18 to 49 demographic. Fans of the show may remember that the episode, entitled “No Sanctuary,” featured members of Gareth’s (Andrew J. West) gang capturing most of Rick’s (Andrew Lincoln) group.
The show was up from the season six premiere, which was watched by 14.63 million viewers and scored a 7.4 in the 18 to 49 rating. The episode was also higher rated than the season six finale that aired in April, which was watched by 14.19 million viewers and scored a 6.9 rating in the 18 to 49 demographic.
The premiere of The Walking Dead may have impacted the ratings of other shows on Sunday night, as HBO’s Westworld had a 0.7 rating, which was down 0.2 from its previous episode. Showtime’s Shameless was also down in the ratings, as it scored a 0.5, down 0.1 from its last episode.
The Walking Dead even impacted the amount of people who watched NBC’s Sunday Night Football. SNF had more viewers (17.71 million), but had a lower demo rating (6.0).
The return of The Walking Dead impacted the ratings of many of the broadcast network shows, as ABC’s Quantico hit a series low with 2.79 million viewers a 0.7 rating in the 18 to 49 demographic, according to TV by the Numbers. However, The Walking Dead can’t be blamed entirely for the low ratings on Quantico, as the season two numbers have been significantly lower than the season one numbers, proving that the sophomore slump is still a big thing in television shows.
Even The Talking Dead had a decent sized audience. The aftershow, which aired live following the season seven premiere, was watched by 7.57 million viewers and scored a 3.7 in the 18 to 49 demographic.
The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on AMC.