Much has been said and written about the ratings troubles that have plagued “The Walking Dead” in its eighth season; the recent mid-season finale grabbed 7.9 million viewers, giving Season 8 the lowest rated mid-season finale since the second season.
To give some greater context to Season 8 at large, the season has averaged 8.7 million viewers per episode, while Season 7 averaged a whopping 12.1 million per episode.
But producer David Alpert, the CEO of Skybound Entertainment, doesn’t seem to be concerned. Speaking with Variety, Alpert just addressed the show’s declining ratings.
“I don’t think in any way the brand has lost its relevance in general,” said Alpert. “I think we’re just seeing a decline in urgency across all media to consume something at a specific time.”
Alpert is referring to the fact that though many fans may not be watching “The Walking Dead” as it airs, they’re still watching the show at their own leisure. Even in its eighth season, the AMC series is still the most watched show on cable in its key demo, so the ratings don’t look so grim if you take total viewership into account.
“The ability to connect digitally with our fans to find out what they want and serve them content from great creators, media agnostic — it’s not a little idea, it’s a huge idea,” Alpert added, speaking of Skybound at large. “We could be the media company for the new millennium.”
We expect “The Walking Dead” to shamble on for many, many years to come.