AMC’s Big Night: “Walking Dead,” “Talking Dead” and “Fear the Walking Dead” – Ed Martin

It isnamp8217t often that an annual program emerges as one of the most significant television events of the year for viewers and advertisers alike Itamp8217s even rarer for such a program to maintain that status over a long period of time In fact the only such event I can think of off the top of my head other than the Super Bowl and the Academy Awards is the season finale of amp8220American Idolamp8221 which during the 2000s was unarguably a highlight of the television year by every identifiable measureOf course it appears that amp8220Idolamp8217samp8221 time at the top has come and gone In fairness it has to be noted that the amp8220Idolamp8221 franchise is far from over and is still among the more popular shows on television even during its current 14th season But another show has taken its place AMCamp8217s horror supernova amp8220The Walking Deadamp8221 the season finale of which has for many years now made the kind of impact and earned the kind of ratings that steadfastly elude most showsamp8220The Walking Deadamp8221 continues to stand out from the rest of television and justify its buzz In fact five years in its latest season finale was its highestrated yet As of this writing the show on Sunday amp8211 a killer episode featuring the return of Lennie James as Morgan pictured below drew almost 16 million viewers 105 of them adults 1849 Those numbers will only grow when Live 3 and Live 7 data is factored in Yes thatamp8217s true of almost every show these days but amp8220Walking Deadamp8221 is bound to kick butt in those measurements we wellThe soaring popularity of the amp8220Walking Deadamp8221 season finales is a tremendous story all on its own but there is much more to the overall amp8220Deadamp8221 phenomenon For example amp8220Walking Deadamp8221 season premieres also perform extremely well and are similarly anticipated with feverish abandon by the seriesamp8217 legion of ferocious fans And because AMC splits every season of amp8220Walking Deadamp8221 into two halves featuring eight episodes each the franchise in effect offers two premieres and two finales per season doubling the excitement for viewers and advertisers alike This split also keeps fans in a constant state of wanting more The relatively brief halfseasons each with its own premiere and finale effectively prevent people from tiring of the showWith all of this excitement and continued audience growth comes an opportunity for advertisers that is increasingly rare a giant bonus for AMC and a lesson for other cable networks and the broadcasters to study and learn from Iamp8217ve said this before but as I watched the expanded 90minute season five finale on Sunday in real time amp8211 which is the best way to watch amp8220Walking Deadamp8221 given the online frenzy that grows minute by minute during the show amp8211 the commercials during its many breaks seemed to me to be of a higher quality than is the norm and to stand out on their own without being overshadowed by anything elsePlainly a amp8220Walking Deadamp8221 season or half season finale or premiere has become the ideal platform on which to run ads for big event movies video games automobiles and television shows Smartly FX placed one for its horror show amp8220The Strainamp8221 which is also about a plague of monstrous dead things and the impact it has on human survivors on AMCamp8217s big night Unlike ads that are placed within the Super Bowl or the Academy Awards those in giant TV series season finales that are themselves events amp8220Walking Deadamp8221 amp8220American Idolamp8221 amp8220Empireamp8221 arenamp8217t dwarfed by the magnitude of everything that is happening around them or lost in a threehour telecast or forced to compete with dozens of other spots for the attention of the audienceFor me as always some of the fun of amp8220Walking Deadamp8217samp8221 many season premieres and finales comes from waiting for the ongoing Microsoft Surface ads that are always included therein Last Sundayamp8217s spot in which a happy wife and zombie fan startled her husband with an April Foolsgag and practically gave him a heart attack didnamp8217t disappoint In voiceover viewers were invited to share their amp8220Walking Deadamp8221 prank ideas using myTWDprankAmong the other standout commercials Previews of the upcoming feature films amp8220Jurassic Worldamp8221 amp8220Tomorrowlandamp8221 and amp8220Terminator Genisysamp8221 a Taco Bell ad Breakfast Defectors that looked almost cinematic and a mysterious teaser spot from Chevrolet featuring zombies There was also a wonderful commercial for Dr Pepper featuring an awesome dog that was way better than any ad with an animal that I saw during the last Super Bowl Were all these ads new I donamp8217t care They were new to me and I first saw them in amp8220Walking Deadamp8221All the wonderful things that amp8220Walking Deadamp8221 does for AMC donamp8217t end there It is also a phenomenal platform in which to promote the networkamp8217s many other original series AMC did so to great effect Sunday night especially when it offered the firstever preview of the upcoming amp8220Walking Deadamp8221 companion series amp8220Fear the Walking Deadamp8221 For millions of viewers that preview was almost as big an event as the season finale itself Click on the image below to watchAnd then there is amp8220Talking Deadamp8221 the live hourlong chat show with invaluable host Chris Hardwick that follows each episode of amp8220Walking Deadamp8221 and often pulls ratings among adults 1849 greater than most other show on television amp8211 shows that I would argue try a lot harder and spend a lot more money to attract viewers amp8220Talking Deadamp8221 remains one of the true genius programming moves in all of television during recent years but donamp8217t take my word for it as of this writing Sunday nightamp8217s edition also a season finale drew 75 million viewers and counting almost 5 million of them adults 1849Just contemplate that for a moment And then contemplate the likelihood that AMC is already planning a live aftershow to follow amp8220Fear the Walking Deadamp8221 Instantly responding to my tweet Sunday night that AMC must do this the lightningquick Jarret Wieselman at Buzzfeed suggested as a title amp8220Fear the Talking Deadamp8221 I like itI canamp8217t think of a single reason why AMC wouldnamp8217t do this The networkamp8217s hordes of zombie fans have come to expect no lessEd Martin is the Editor of Planet Ed and MediaBizBloggers and the television and video critic for MyersBizNet Follow him on Twitter at PlanetEdCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates at MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries

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AMC’s Big Night: “Walking Dead,” “Talking Dead” and “Fear the Walking Dead” – Ed Martin

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