‘The Walking Dead’ Season 10, Episode 2: Ratings Drop Even Further
As Season 10 of AMC’s The Walking Dead starts, it appears viewers are not tuning in like they used to and ratings are suffering as a result.
SPOILER ALERT: This article discusses Season 10 of AMC’s The Walking Dead. Please proceed with caution if you have not yet viewed all available episodes and wish to avoid spoilers.
The Season 10 premiere of The Walking Dead touched base with many characters from the wider communities. However, it appears that some viewers who watched this episode decided not to tune in to find out more about the leaders of the Whisperers. Episode 2 revealed the backstory of how Beta (Ryan Hurst) met Alpha (Samantha Morton). The new character, Gamma (Thora Birch), was also introduced as well as her tragic backstory.
According to Comic Book, the rating for Episode 2 of The Walking Dead Season 10 came in at 1.3 in the key 18-49 demographic. This also saw nearly half-a-million people drop off from watching between Episodes 1 and 2 as 3.47 million viewers tuned in to the most recent episode of The Walking Dead. It also placed the TV series in the number two spot on Sunday night “behind MLB’s ALCS game between the New York Yankees and Houston Astros.”
As previously reported by The Inquisitr, Season 10 of The Walking Dead premiered to fewer viewers than those who tuned in for the Season 1 premiere of the zombie apocalypse series. Approximately 4 million viewers tuned into the Season 10 premiere, this is compared with 5.35 million viewers for the Season 1 premiere. This could be considered a worrying trend, although, as was pointed out with the Season 10 premiere, the numbers can still be considered high when compared to other cable series.
However, as Comic Book points out, there may be some factors that need to be considered in regard to the continued drop in viewers for The Walking Dead. Live viewership numbers appear to be “down across the board for many shows” and this can be due to the fact that many viewers are not tuning in as soon as shows air. When compared with the Live+3 rating, which is the viewership numbers over three days from the initial premiere date, the numbers usually pick up. In fact, when this number is taken into consideration, the Season 10 premiere of The Walking Dead saw a 50 percent increase in viewership numbers.
In addition, AMC is also offering AMC Premiere subscribers the opportunity to view each episode up to 48 hours prior to the official premiere date, which may also be altering rating numbers.
Season 10 of The Walking Dead returns to AMC on Sunday, October 20, with Episode 3, titled “Ghosts.”