The Walking Dead Season 7 Premiere Breaks Ratings Record In Central Florida

The Walking Dead killed it last night. While we await the official ratings as a whole, the numbers from the Central Florida viewers are in.

The Walking Dead saw a more than 30% increase in viewership from the Season 6 finale to the Season 7 premiere in the area. 318,655 total viewers tuned in to AMC to find out who Negan killed, a whopping jump from the Season 6 finale's 236,274 viewers.

The episode, ominously titled "The Day Will Come When You Won't Be," was the highest rated episode ever in the TV market.

Talking Dead followed up The Walking Dead's return with an extended episode featuring nearly the entire cast of the show. The Chris Hardwick hosted therapy session drew 185,159 viewers, besting Sunday Night Football's 156,676 (granted: this is the Central Florida market which may not be particularly invested in Seattle or Arizona tying 6-6 in overtime).

In the Central Florida market, the closet competitor was CBS's 60 Minutes which drew 241,535 viewers after being pushed back bt the NFL.

In the key 18-49 age demographic, The Walking Dead took first place on Sunday night. Talking Dead took second with a replayed showing of The Walking Dead's Season 7 premiere taking third.

MORE on The Walking Dead season 7 premiere:

Kingdom Preview Released / Norman Reedus On Daryl's Future / Season 7 Premiere Recap (SPOILERS) / Who Is King Ezekiel / Where's Daryl Now? / Negan's Comic Book History / Twitter Reactions to Negan's Kill / Was the Premiere Too Violent?

If The Walking Dead sees the same increase in viewership nationwide, it will become the highest rated episode of the entire series. The record for most live viewers has belonged to the Season 5 premiere, No Sanctuary, which drew over 17 million pairs of eyeballs. An increase of 30% in viewership from the Season 6 finale would put The Day Will Come When You Won't Be considerably over 18.5 million viewers.

The episode has, however, received criticisms for its overly-exposed violense. The slaughter of two key characters with a barbed-wire wrapped baseball bat made for some of the most graphic moments in television history.

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on AMC. For complete coverage and insider info all season long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.

(via Orlando Sentinel)