TV Sunday: The Walking Dead Effect

The sixth season of The Walking Dead, that ratings monster on AMC, premiered this past Sunday night, and the debut of the series' new season gobbled up viewers, leaving behind slim pickings for programming on the broadcast networks. The ratings numbers for The Walking Dead itself are not in yet, but the ratings for other Sunday-night programming makes it clear that the zombie thriller's appetite for viewers easily ripples throughout the schedule.

Sunday Night Football on NBC, which always holds its own just fine against The Walking Dead, saw its ratings drop by about a third compared to last week's game. The Walking Dead often beats Sunday Night Football in the 18-49 age demographic, although the football broadcast usually far outpaces The Walking Dead in terms of total viewers.

On ABC, Blood and Oil struggled at 9 pm, drawing only 3.8 million total viewers and earning a .8 rating in the 18-49 age demographic. In the 10 pm slot, new series Quantico also saw a big ratings drop from last week, thanks no doubt to the fact that The Walking Dead's 90-minute premiere episode chewed into its time slot, too.