Cable Ratings: The Walking Dead Soars, Westworld Sinks

With many people self-isolating due to the Coronavirus outbreak, TV ratings are starting to benefit.

In the just-released final numbers for Sunday, a highly-anticipated installment of AMC's The Walking Dead surged in the ratings.

The Walking Dead Season 10 Episode 12 delivered 3.49 million total viewers and a 1.23 rating in the adults 18-49 demo.

This was enough to make it the highest-rated scripted show on the night in the demo.

Week-to-week, the demo rating surged 34% to give the show its highest rating since The October 13 episode.

If you watch The Walking Dead online, you know that the episode was a must-watch for fans, featuring stunning twists.

However, the episode was also available 48 hours early for those who have AMC's streaming service, AMC premiere. The cabler typically keeps those numbers quiet.

One show that did not benefit from more people watching the TV was HBO's Westworld. The first episode of the third season delivered just 901,000 viewers and a 0.29 rating in the demo.

While these ratings are passable, it signals a big drop for the sci-fi drama. This is down 67% in the demo and 56% in total viewers from the debut of Westworld Season 2.

Additionally, the demo rating is around half of Westworld Season 2's average.

This is a worrying result, but like many cable shows, they attract a lot of fans who watch TV on their own terms, so it's possible that the show could recoup some of the losses in delayed viewing.

On the unscripted side, TLC's 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days crept up to 2.86 million viewers and a 0.92 rating in the demo.

With more and more people set to self-isolate, it's likely ratings will continue to rise.

Many movie studios are taking the theater closures to heart, with some movies being released on-demand to purchase earlier than originally planned.

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Have you been watching more TV live?

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