Football and zombies top cable in 2015

All three College Football Playoff games drew more than 28 million total viewers.

College football was, by far, the most popular draw on cable last year.

That helped keep ESPN the No. 1 cable network for the second year in a row in total viewers and adults 18-49, according to Nielsen year-end data.

ESPN averaged 2.02 million total viewers in primetime, down 8 percent from last year. It finished 8 percent ahead of No. 2 TBS, which averaged 1.87 million.

USA, which dominated in total viewers for nearly a decade before ESPN moved ahead, was third with 1.85 million, down 16 percent from last year.

In fact, six of the top eight networks in total viewers posted declines vs. last year.

Among 18-49s, ESPN averaged 874,000, just a touch ahead of TBS at 865,000. In that demo, AMC and Discovery were the only top-10 networks to post year-to-year gains.

Football was the driver behind ESPN’s victory. The College Football Playoff Championship was the year’s top show with 33.6 million viewers, also becoming the top program in cable history. The two semis finished second and third in total viewers.

But outside of sports, AMC’s “The Walking Dead” was the clear winner. The zombie drama took nine of the top 10 spots among 18-49s and 18-34s.

In fact, among 18-34s, “Dead” even topped the CFP title game.

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