The Walking Dead marathon to be aired for German Viewers

German network RTL2 is planning for a zombie marathon to introduce local viewers to AMC’s apocalyptical series The Walking Dead.

The show will be freely premiered in Germany and RTL2 has planned to air the entire first season in two-hour programming blocks over a three-day weekend, May 11-13. RTL 2 successfully used this marathon-style programming for the German free TV debut of Game of Thrones last weekend.

Game of Thrones is a HBO fantasy series which drew an average 9.6 percent market share in the key 14-49 demographic for RTL2 and it was well above predictions and hopes. At its peak time, some 1.87 million German viewers were watching the show. Now RTL2 plans to repeat its success with The Walking Dead.

Programming more challenging U.S. drama and fantasy series in traditional weekly slots hasn’t worked for RTL 2. HBO’s True Blood and Showtime’s Dexter have been ratings flops for the Munich-based channel, forcing the network to take a more experimental route.