I’m not sure anyone watches the walking dead anymore, but…
Traditional ratings metrics paint a negative picture for The Walking Dead, but it’s not necessarily all doom and gloom. AMC launched their own subscription-based streaming service, AMC Premiere, last year, and are giving it a big push with The Walking Dead for Season 9.
AMC Premiere offers the show to subscribers ad-free, and has been making episodes available prior to regular broadcast, giving die-hard fans the chance to get ahead of the game and see episodes early, without having to sit through adverts either. It’s unclear just how many people are watching on Premiere, but there’s an incentive there for Walking Dead fans which will be eating at least a little into its viewership. As we’ve seen with a number of cable networks, getting people to sign-up for their own services, rather than relying on ads, is key to long-term strategy (e.g. Twin Peaks: The Return for Showtime), as to shift some Walking Dead viewers there might look bad in the ratings, but could have some payoff down the line.
