ratings are down...
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/walking-dead-ratings-bite-taken-221754827.html
not a surprise.
The only surprise is that it took this long for them to finally sink so low.
The end part of that article is funny, the part about AMC hoping that the TWD crossover with Fear The Walking Dead is going to boost ratings. Hah, yeah right. Associating yourself with a spin-off that is ten times worse than you are is really a good strategy.
The spin-off has improved considerably the last season, and personally, the show I prefer right now. On Reddit, many who admitted to not liking Fear that much in the beginning have turned around.
Fear does away with the long Rick speeches and the sudden character deaths are not telegraphed, and there is no Sasha with PTSD (not to say it wouldn't happen in real life, but TWD seems to use that a lot for its characters that doesn't make for good TV).
The difference right now is I have absolutely no idea where the Fear gang will end up, whereas I know what's going to happen these next two seasons in TWD. Attack Negan, Negan gets away. Attack Negan, Negan gets away. I didn't even read the comics and I can tell this is what they're going to do - it's almost borderline milking at this point.