Advanced Television

Walking Dead international viewership up 17%

October 14, 2015

Fox, the home of The Walking Dead, has revealed a 17 per cent year-on-year live ratings growth (+24 per cent reach increase) for the season six return of the world’s most watched TV show which aired on October 12th.

In the 18 markets across Europe and Asia where ‘Live Overnights’ were available at time of release, The Walking Dead consistently outperformed its prior seasons records and dominated as #1 in its slot. In key markets such as the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain, the premiere episode became the highest rated live TV hour on Fox ever.

Performance highlights available at time of issue:

The premiere was up 17 per cent in rating across 18 metered markets from prior season and boosted the channel’s Prime Time average 5-fold. The live opening attracted 4.3 million viewers increasing last year’s reach by +25%.

In the highly competitive UK market, where The Walking Dead was pegged against the Lithuania vs England football match on ITV, the premiere achieved phenomenal success, scoring the highest Overnights audience ever recorded on Fox (as reported yesterday) +11 per cent vs last year’s season opener. Fox comfortably became the most watched pay-TV channel during the timeslot, with an audience more than four times bigger than its nearest rival.

This year’s premiere of The Walking Dead in Germany drew the largest viewership to Fox ever, resulting in a new record of 3.7 per cent daily share for MF14-59 Pay TV Individuals for the channel.

In the Netherlands, The Walking Dead premiere became the best ever performing entertainment hour on Fox, attracting 153 per cent more Adults 6+ compared to the season 5 debut and delivering +37 per cent from the previously held record for the season 5 finale. 

Also in Spain, the premiere episode drew the largest audience for Fox to date, commanding a 2.4 per cent share of live viewing for the slot. Year-on-year, The Walking Dead was up 5 per cent against prior season premiere and up 18 per cent compared to the whole season 5 average.

In Korea, The Walking Dead ranked #1 among all M30-39 in Pay TV and over performed the prior year’s debut by 77 per cent in total Pay TV Households. The premiere also saw an impressive 375 per cent growth in Metro MF25-39 audiences compare to last year.

The premiere in Taiwan was up 18 per cent compared to the premiere of season 5 part B last year, and was the only foreign language programme to make the top 10 total TV ranker for the timeslot.

Across the Balkans, The Walking Dead premiere ranked #1 across all pay in Croatia and Slovenia.

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