Ratings: ‘The Walking Dead,’ ‘The Bible’ finales clobber broadcast TV

Just in case you were wondering why a show like “Revenge” drew only a 1.5 rating in the 18=49 demographic Sunday night, here is your answer: “The Walking Dead” and “The Bible” ate it alive.

When it comes to the former show, AMC’s zombie hit set yet another record with a 6.4 rating in the 18-49 demographic, which is even more impressive when you consider the fact that it was a holiday, and there was so much going on. The show also drew a series high 12.4 million viewers, and this even helped “Talking Dead” have its best audience to date with 5.2 million viewers, which the network is currently touting as a larger audience than the “Game of Thrones” premiere (though to be fair, we have a feeling that way more people probably watched the George R.R. Martin adaptation on Sunday when you factor in other mediums).

What is interesting is that there is a bit of a flexing contestant going on right now between AMC and History for #1 program of the night in viewership. The latter network is claiming that “The Bible” defeated “The Walking Dead” in the 9:00 p.m. timeslot, though they are reporting about 100,000 fewer viewers than AMC is. Regardless, “The Bible” has to be thrilled with averaging 11.7 million viewers for an Easter Sunday spectacular, though it did not get anywhere near the same 18-49 audience due to History skewing much older as a network.

What these numbers prove to us yet again is that television is becoming more and more cable-focused, in particular on Sunday nights. Both of these series, after all, performed better in both viewers and the demo than anything airing on networks.

Do you think these ratings are a sign of things to come as viewers continue to embrace quality TV? Be sure to share your thoughts below, and you can read more on the future of “The Walking Dead” by heading over to the link here.

Photo: AMC