‘The Walking Dead’ Hits Lowest Ratings Ever

The Walking Dead‘s ratings slide has taken the AMC series to its lowest point so far.

Sunday’s Episode 9×02 drew a 2.0 rating in the key 18-49 demographic with 4.9 million total viewers in Live+Same Day numbers, according to Variety. The previous series low was a 2.4 rating in its first season. The series low total viewers is 4.7 million, which also came during an episode from the first season. It is a 20% drop from week to week.

The Walking Dead finished in second place on the night, bowing behind Sunday Night Football in the key demo. Meanwhile, the MLB’s ALCS game between the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox drew a 1.5 rating.

The Season Nine premiere of AMC’s zombie show posted the series’ lowest premiere episode since its first season, with just over six million people watching and a 3.2 million of them coming in the key demographic. The series premiere had 5.35 million viewers back in 2010, which grew to 7.26 million for the Season Two premiere a year later.

As viewing habits tend to shift towards on-demand schedules with appointment viewing becoming less of a priority, AMC continues to push its stance on the zombie drama’s rating as not being terribly concerned. The network offered Episodes 9×01 and 9×02 to members of its AMC Premiere service 24 hours ahead of its broadcast debut. Many viewers had already watched the episode before it aired. While the numbers for AMC Premiere viewers have not been released, the network has bragged on a subscription record.

The downward trend in ratings, regardless, is not a great look for the zombie series. The two seasons preceding Season Nine were largely criticized ahead of Angela Kang’s tenure which began with the current episodes. Kang’s work, however, has been praised by critics and fans a like, despite the ratings not reflecting the upward tick in the show’s quality.

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm ET. Fear the Walking Dead will return for its fifth season in 2019. For complete coverage and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter!