The third season finale of AMC's hit show, The Walking Dead airs Sunday night, and although it's going head-to-head against the third series premiere of HBO's Game of Thrones, viewers are expected to tune into the show en masse.

The Walking Dead isn't just one of the biggest shows on cable — it's one of the biggest on all of television. For the 2012 to 2013 television season, The Walking Dead is second only to Sunday Night Football as the highest-rated show in the all-important 18 to 49 demographic. That puts the gritty, action-packed drama ahead of such network TV staples as The Big Bang Theory, Modern Family and American Idol.

In this week's issue of Variety, senior TV editor Brian Steinberg will have a full feature on The Walking Dead and its impact on the television landscape. I spoke with Steinberg in-advance of tonight's finale about the show, its popularity and what it means for the future of advertising.

Scoring Big Bucks and Smart Branded Ads

While cable television shows as a whole still can't command the same ad rates as network shows, The Walking Dead is an exception to the rule. Thanks to its huge ratings in the 18 to 49 demographic and its very strong showing among young men (a group advertisers covet and that network television struggle to grab), Steinberg said that ad packages for The Walking Dead are considerably higher than their broadcast counterparts.

Beyond traditional ads, AMC is also able to score significant payments for product placement within the show itself. Hyundai, for example, has had a large presence in the show over its last two seasons. The light-green 2011 Tucson Limited crossover is the most frequently used vehicle by the show's group of survivors; it gets lots of airtime, and plays into plenty of important plot points.

In an interesting move, Steinberg said that Hyundai has actually come to an agreement with the show's creators and production company to ensure that the car is always shown in good working order (you'll never see it run out of gas or unable to start), as well as clean and safe (no one will ever drive off without first buckling their seatbelt, even if zombies are on the attack). That kind of deep product integration is a throwback to the early days of television — when commercials and ad-placements were built into the shows themselves; but in today's digital landscape, it has even broader consequences.

Viewers who watch The Walking Dead on Netflix, iTunes or Amazon will be exposed to advertising in the same way as viewers who watch on AMC. What's more, because advertisers know that so many fans of The Walking Dead watch the show time-shifted on DVRs, advertisers are even starting to incorporate elements of the show into their ads during the show. The hope is that when a viewer fast-forwards through the ad break on a DVR, he or she will stop to watch the zombie-focused ad.

Digital Impact

I asked Steinberg his thoughts on why The Walking Dead has become such a phenomenon, and he said it's because the show "creates its own world" for viewers. He also added that the social TV impact of the show is visible too. As we've noted in the past, The Walking Dead is consistently one of the most social shows on television.

AMC's post-show discussion series The Talking Dead, hosted by Chris Hardwick, was expanded to an hour back in February. Airing immediately after each new episode of the show, it uses online polls, offers fans a way to ask questions via Twitter and Facebook, and continues for another 15 to 20 minutes online — even after the broadcast is over.

Steinberg said that while ratings for The Talking Dead aren't anywhere close to The Walking Dead, it still offers a strong showing, and is a example of what broadcasters can do to engage with digital fans in a more meaningful way.

The Walking Dead Finale: Will We See More Record Ratings?

The Walking Dead finale has stronger-than-usual competition tonight, specifically from HBO with the Game of Thrones premiere, as well as the mini-series The Bible on the History channel.

Still, Steinberg expects The Walking Dead to easily win for the night. It might even set a new best rating for the show — and for AMC.

What show will you be watching tonight? Let us know in the comments.

Image courtesy of Gene Page, AMC