American Horror Story closed the book on its third iteration on Wednesday night, and Coven gave the FX anthology a finale best with 4.24 million viewers during its 10 p.m. broadcast.
Among total viewers, Coven was up an impressive 28 percent from the week prior. And among adults 18-49, Coven averaged a 2.2 rating (2.84 million viewers) — a boost of 22 percent.
Coven has been a huge boon to the AHS franchise. It opened to a series record 5.54 million viewers in October, smashing previous highs set in the first and second seasons. With time-shifting taken into account, the premiere actually ranks as the No. 2 FX series broadcast of all time, behind only the recent sixth-season opener of Sons of Anarchy.
Season-to-date, most current numbers give AHS an average 7.2 million viewers and 5.1 million adults 18-49. It ranks as the No. 3 scripted drama on cable this season, behind only The Walking Dead and the final run of Breaking Bad.
With encores, the Wednesday night haul for finale episode “The Seven Wonders” brought in 5.8 million viewers — 3.88 million of them adults 18-49.
Source: THR.com, 1/30/14