By David Bauder, Television Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --Zombies, basketball and Jesus Christ have been hot television properties during the past week.
The Nielsen company said that AMC's fifth season finale for "The Walking Dead" on Sunday was seen by 15.8 million viewers. That's the third biggest audience ever for the hit drama and its best for a season finale. Its largest live audience, of 17.3 million, was for the first episode of this season.
"It's tough enough in today's competitive environment to command attention, and even harder to hold on to it," said Charlie Collier, AMC president, expressing pleasure in the show's growth through five seasons.
"The Walking Dead" didn't quite match the numbers for Fox's new sensation, "Empire," which drew 17.6 million for the finale of its first season earlier in March.
But the AMC finale reached 10.4 million viewers aged 18-to-49, the key demographic for advertising sales, and "Empire" had 8.8 million in that age group, Nielsen said.
Given how television is watched, however, those numbers are like reporting the score of a baseball game during the seventh inning stretch. Both shows are expected to gain millions more viewers when people who watch through on demand services or DVRs are added in during the coming weeks.
The TBS network reached the biggest audience in its history with Saturday night's thrilling NCAA men's basketball regional final between undefeated Kentucky and upset-minded Notre Dame. The game was seen by an average of 14.8 million people, peaking at just under 20 million during the tense ending.
Another network, the National Geographic Channel, reached its biggest audience ever during the weekend. "Killing Jesus," its story on the crucifixion of Christ based on the book by Martin Dugard and Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly, was seen by 3.7 million people on Sunday, Nielsen said.
CBS won the week in prime-time, averaging 8.8 million viewers. ABC had 6.1 million, NBC had 5.8 million, Fox had 3.7 million, Univision had 2.9 million, Telemundo had 1.5 million, the CW had 1.4 million and ION Television had 1.1 million.
TBS was the week's most popular cable network, averaging 4.65 million viewers in prime time. AMC had 2.17 million, USA had 1.75 million, Fox News Channel had 1.68 million and the Disney Channel had 1.49 million.
NBC's "Nightly News" topped the evening newscasts with an average of 8.7 million viewers. ABC's "World News" was second with 8.6 million and the "CBS Evening News" had 6.7 million viewers.
For the week of March 23-29, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: "NCIS," CBS, 16.23 million; "The Walking Dead," AMC, 15.78 million; NCAA Men's Basketball: Notre Dame vs. Kentucky, TBS, 14.75 million; "NCIS: New Orleans," CBS, 14.42 million; "Dancing With the Stars," ABC, 13.85 million; "60 Minutes," CBS, 13.83 million; "The Voice" (Monday), NBC, 12.2 million; "The Voice" (Tuesday), NBC, 11.62 million; "Madam Secretary," CBS, 11.47 million; "NCAA Studio Show" (Saturday), TBS, 10.83 million.
Art Directors Club of Europe sets finalists for ADCE Awards 2024
The Art Directors Club of Europe (ADCE) has announced the finalists for the 33rd ADCE Awards, highlighting top creative talent from 22 countries.
An international jury gathered in Barcelona on October 29 and 30 to evaluate the best work of this year in European design and advertising, ultimately selecting the 2024 finalists entries.
Winners of the Gold Awards, along with Special Awards and the Grand Prix, will be unveiled at the ADCE Awards Gala Ceremony on November 22 during the ADCE Festival, while Silver, Bronze, and Shortlisted entries will be published immediately following the Gala on the ADCE website.
A total of 370 entries across 22 European countries have been selected as finalists. Final distinctions will include Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners, as well as special recognitions like the following:
European Star – honoring projects that reflect core European values such as democracy, freedom, justice, and peace.
Genius Loci – celebrating work that captures the spirit of specific places within Europe’s cultural heritage.
Green Star – recognizing projects that advance the circular economy, sustainability, or environmental protection.
Equal Star – rewarding creativity that challenges discrimination and stereotypes, promoting inclusivity.
This year’s ADCE Awards continue to celebrate the creativity, innovation, and values that characterize Europe’s artistic landscape.
The leading countries contributing to this selection include Germany with 108 finalist entries, Spain with 48, Austria with 33, Portugal with 30, Italy with 23, Switzerland with 21 and the U.K. with 20.
The finalists for the ADCE Awards 2024 can be accessed