THE SKED: Early Sunday Cable Ratings – “Halt and Catch Fire” Low, “Game of Thrones” Mountainous

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We’ll have more detailed Sunday cable ratings tomorrow, but here are some highlights networks were anxious to share:

On AMC, HALT AND CATCH FIRE debuted with 1.2M total viewers, and an 18-49 demo rating that will be right on the 0.3-0.4 border.  To be sure, AMC had exposed the pilot online and on VOD over the past 2 weeks, so some viewers will already have seen it–but still, this is hardly a start to be happy about.  It’s only equal in total viewers to the underperforming TURN (and 200K below last week’s Turn, which preceded the Mad Men season finale, and 900K below Turn‘s premiere, which was also made available in advance on VOD), and at best a fraction ahead of Turn‘s demo rating.  (In the 18-49 demo, Turn premiered with an 0.5 rating.)  When does that Walking Dead spin-off launch?

Things were much happier at HBO, where GAME OF THRONES tied its own Mountainous record for total viewers with 7.2M.  When it rated that high 2 weeks ago, its demo number was a fantastic 3.9, and if that number holds, it will triple the highest rated shows on network television last night, despite being available in only 1/3 of US homes.  The season finale of SILICON VALLEY had 1.7M total viewers, also matching its rating from 2 weeks ago, which should mean a 1.0 demo rating.  It was followed by VEEP, also steady at 1.1M total viewers and a likely 0.6 in the demo, and LAST WEEK TONIGHT, steady again at 1M viewers and a likely 0.5, with a particularly brilliant half-hour that hilariously and cogently explained everything one would need to know about net neutrality.