Sons of Anarchy season launch sets FX ratings record

The first episode of the new season of Sons of Anarchy has become the most-watched programme ever on FX.

Nielsen’s seven day ratings capture all live and repeat viewing across key demos and show the programme is by some distance the biggest ever for FX.

Season six of the biker series launched on US cable net on September 10 and won 8.32 million viewers comfortably beating FX’s previous biggest show, the debut of Charlie Sheen series Anger Management, which registered 7.16 million viewers across all demos.

The launch episode of season five of Sons of Anarchy was previously the second most-watched sow in FX’s history with 7.15 million viewers.

The curtain-raiser to season six had 5.55 million in the 18-to-49 demo and 2.7 million in the 18-to-34 category. Overall, the numbers put it the top tier of scripted cable shows alongside The Walking Dead and Vikings on AMC and History respectively.

The second instalment of the edgy drama about an outlaw motorcycle club, which was created by Kurt Sutter, goes out tonight.