Tag: ratings

WWE NXT viewership up, 18-49 demo rating down

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Tuesday night’s WWE NXT episode averaged 554,000 viewers on The CW, an increase of 4.9 percent from last week. It’s the best audience total for the show since October 14.

In the 18-49 demo, NXT drew a 0.07 rating. That’s down 12.5 percent from last week and ties the lowest rating NXT has ever done in that category. NXT finished last on network television with less than half of what the next-lowest show did in the key demo, though The CW is generally a lower-rated station than the other major networks.

The show went head-to-head, as it will all season, with the NBA on NBC, which was second on network TV to ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. The NBA broadcast drew a 0.42 rating in 18-49 and averaged 2.237 million viewers overall.

As compared to the same week in 2024 (under the previous Nielsen panel-only reporting method), NXT’s overall viewership was down 12.2 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 56.3 percent.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership numbers and 18-49 demo ratings for NXT, as well as the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s episode was down 10.9 percent in viewers and 41.8 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

Note: Starting on October 1, Nielsen began using the new Big Data + Panel measurement system. The change has resulted in severe declines for most wrestling shows, particularly in the 18-49 demo.

WWE NXT ratings up slightly this week

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Tuesday night’s WWE NXT episode averaged 528,000 viewers on The CW, a slight increase from the almost identical number (527,000) the show did last week. This marks the best audience total for the show since October 14.

In the 18-49 demo, NXT drew a 0.08 rating. That’s up 14.3 percent from last week and is also the highest rating the show has recorded in that category since the October 14 episode.

The show went head-to-head with an NBA game on NBC, as well as cable news coverage of the 2025 U.S. elections which dominated the cable charts for the night.

As compared to the same week in 2024, when Nielsen was still using its panel-only ratings measurement system, NXT’s overall viewership was down 14.7 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 52.9 percent.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership numbers and 18-49 demo ratings for NXT, along with the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s episode was down 16 percent in overall viewers and 33.3 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

Note: Beginning on October 1, Nielsen switched to its new Big Data + Panel measurement system that has resulted in severe declines for most wrestling television shows, particularly in the 18-49 demo.

WOR: Dynamite, NXT, new belt, all-time low ratings, Ridge Holland

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Image: AEW

Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including all-time low ratings this week and why, the Dynamite and NXT TV reports, Blue Demon Jr. health update, New Japan Tag League, Ridge Holland, the Santo tour, and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!

Timestamps:
Start: Wrestling ratings sink against World Series
17:21: Ridge Holland’s WWE contract terminated after speaking out on injuries
25:17: NJPW World Tag League lineups, Blue Demon Jr. update, Hijo de El Santo farewell shows
33:22: Still no idea who Hiroshi Tanahashi’s final opponent is
37:43: Nate Diaz may fight Jake Paul, BJ Penn arrested
41:23: AEW Dynamite recap
1:03:26: WWE NXT recap

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WOL: Dynamite line-up, NXT TV report, injuries, contracts, more!

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including AEW Dynamite and Collision line-ups for the weekend, tons of thoughts on NXT, injury updates and what happened to Ishii, Drew McIntyre’s contract, all the rest of the news and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!

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AEW Collision ratings down, ties record low 18-49 number

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Saturday night’s Fright Night episode of AEW Collision averaged 217,000 viewers on TNT, down 4.8 percent from the previous week. It’s the lowest audience total for Collision since September 20, when it aired in the afternoon prior to the All Out pay-per-view.

In the 18-49 demo, the show drew a 0.03 rating. That’s down 25 percent from last week and matches the lowest rating Collision has ever done in that category regardless of date or time slot.

Collision went against big competition from sports and other wrestling. Game seven of the MLB World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays was the highest-rated baseball game in seven years, ranking first on television with 24.8 million viewers and a 5.85 rating in the 18-49 demo. There was also a slate of college football games, along with Collision going against WWE’s Saturday Night’s Main Event on Peacock.

As compared to the same week in 2024, under Nielsen’s old panel-only ratings system, Collision’s overall viewership was down 37.8 percent while its 18-49 rating was down 66.7 percent.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership numbers and 18-49 demo ratings for Collision, as well as the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s episode was down 23.5 percent in viewers and 50 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

Note: Starting on October 1, Nielsen began using the Big Data + Panel ratings measurement system, which has generally resulted in lower-than-usual ratings for most wrestling programming but has not affected Collision as much as others.

WWE SmackDown draws record low ratings on Halloween

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Friday night’s Halloween edition of WWE SmackDown averaged 933,000 viewers on USA Network, down 18.7 percent from the previous week. It’s the lowest audience total the show has ever done on USA Network and lowest overall number for SmackDown since an episode that was moved to FS1 in November 2023.

SmackDown drew a 0.20 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s down 31 percent from the prior week and is also the lowest rating the show has done on USA. Other than a clip show on New Year’s Eve 2020, it’s the lowest rating SmackDown has ever done on any network.

Along with airing on Halloween (traditionally a bad night for wrestling shows), SmackDown went head-to-head with game six of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays. The baseball game averaged 17.4 million viewers on Fox alone — in addition to airing on other platforms — and drew a 3.28 rating in the 18-49 demo, topping all of television in both categories.

As compared to the same week in 2024, under Nielsen’s old panel-only measurement system, SmackDown’s overall viewership was down 34.7 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 52.4 percent.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership numbers and 18-49 demo ratings for SmackDown, as well as the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s episode was down 24 percent in viewers and 39.4 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

Note: Starting on October 1, Nielsen switched to the new Big Data + Panel ratings measurement system, which has resulted in lower-than-usual ratings for most wrestling shows.

AEW Dynamite ratings down against World Series

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Wednesday night’s episode of AEW Dynamite averaged 459,000 viewers on TBS, down 3.8% from the previous week. It’s the lowest audience the show has ever done on a Wednesday night.

Dynamite averaged a 0.08 rating in the 18-49 demo. That ties what the rating was in that category last week and is also the record low for the show on a Wednesday, beating only the 0.07 when the show moved to Tuesday and went head to head with NXT.

The show went head to head with Game 5 of MLB’s World Series which topped all television with 14.567 million viewers and a 3.02 rating in the 18-49 demo on FOX. Dynamite finished 7th on the prime time cable charts, also going head to head with an NBA game on ESPN that averaged 1.28 million viewers and topped that chart with a 0.38 18-49 rating.

As compared to the same week in 2024, under Nielsen’s former ratings measurement system, the overall viewership was down 26.9% while the 18-49 rating was down 57.9%. This year’s numbers do not include people watching on HBO Max.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of overall viewership and 18-49 demo ratings for AEW Dynamite on TBS. It’s important to note that Nielsen switched to the new Big Data + Panel ratings measurement system that has had a negative effect on ratings for most pro wrestling shows. This week’s episode was down 13.5% in overall viewers and 33.3% in 18-49 as compared to recent averages.

WWE NXT ratings steady against World Series game four

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Tuesday night’s WWE NXT episode averaged 527,000 viewers on The CW, almost identical to the 525,000 viewers the show did last week. It’s the second-lowest audience NXT has done since Nielsen switched to its new Big Data + Panel ratings measurement system.

NXT drew a 0.07 rating in the 18-49 demo, the same number as the show did last week. It ties the lowest rating NXT has ever done in that category.

The episode went head-to-head with game four of the World Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers, which topped all of television with 14.87 million viewers across several Fox platforms and a 3.05 rating in 18-49 on the main Fox network. It was the second-highest viewed World Series game four in the last nine years.

As compared to the same week in 2024, under the old panel-only system, NXT’s overall viewership was down 10.4 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 50 percent.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership numbers and 18-49 demo ratings for NXT, as well as the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s episode was down 18.4 percent in viewers and 46.2 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

Note: Nielsen began its new measurement system in October, which has generally resulted in much lower ratings for wrestling TV shows.

AEW Collision ratings down against NXT Halloween Havoc

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Saturday night’s AEW Collision episode averaged 228,000 viewers on TNT, down 43 percent from the previous week (which aired after AEW Dynamite on Wednesday night). The viewership number is down 20.3 percent from the last time Collision aired in its regular time slot on October 11.

In the 18-49 demo, Collision finished 12th on the prime time cable charts with a 0.04 rating. That’s down 63.6 percent from the October 15th episode following Dynamite and down 33.3 percent from the October 11 broadcast. This ties the third-lowest rating the show has ever done in that category.

The show had much stronger than usual competition which included WWE NXT’s Halloween Havoc airing head-to-head on Peacock as well as the MLB World Series on Fox and college football on various cable and network channels.

As compared to the same week in 2024, under the old panel-only Nielsen ratings system, Collision’s viewership was down 29 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 55.6 percent. This year’s numbers do not include viewers on HBO Max.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership totals and 18-49 demo ratings for Collision, as well as the 10-week average in both categories. It should be noted that Nielsen started using its Big Data + Panel ratings measurement system at the start of October, but Collision’s numbers have not been negatively affected as much as other wrestling shows. This week’s episode was down 21.1 percent in viewers and 33.3 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

WWE SmackDown demo rating up despite World Series competition

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Friday night’s WWE SmackDown episode averaged 1.147 million viewers on USA Network, a drop of three percent from the previous week. Despite that, this is the second-largest audience total the show has done under Nielsen’s new Big Data + Panel measurement system.

SmackDown topped the cable charts, and finished third overall on television, with a 0.29 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s up 3.6 percent from last week and is the best rating the show has done in that category since September 26, which was under the previous system.

The show went head-to-head with game one of MLB’s World Series, which drew the second-highest ratings of the last seven years for a World Series opening game. Fox averaged 12.5 million viewers for the broadcast and did a 2.53 rating in 18-49 airing head-to-head with Smackdown. The baseball pre-game show finished second on the charts with 7.244 million viewers and a 1.30 rating.

As compared to the same week in 2024, under the old ratings measurement system, SmackDown’s overall viewership was down 19.1 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 32.6 percent.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership numbers and 18-49 demo ratings, as well as the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s show was down 8.6 percent in viewers and 12.1 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

Note: numbers before October 1 are using the previous method of calculating ratings.

WWE NXT draws record low ratings for CW episode

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Tuesday night’s WWE NXT — the go-home show for Halloween Havoc — averaged 525,000 viewers on The CW, down 23.9 percent from last week. It’s the lowest viewership the show has ever done on that network and the lowest overall for NXT since July 30, 2024.

In the 18-49 demo, NXT drew a 0.07 rating. That’s down 41.7 percent from last week and is also the lowest rating the show has done on The CW. Overall, it ties the lowest rating NXT has ever done on any station, matching the number it did on February 8, 2022 when the show aired on SyFy due to USA Network broadcasting the Winter Olympics.

It should be noted that these record lows come under Nielsen’s new “Big Data + Panel” measurement system, which was introduced at the start of October and has generally meant a steep decline from what wrestling shows had been doing previously.

NXT went head-to-head with opening night of the NBA season, which did the best numbers that league has drawn for its opener in the last 15 years. The first NBA game on new broadcast partner NBC averaged 5.096 million viewers and drew a 1.39 rating in the 18-49 demo.

As compared to the same week in 2024, which was with the old Nielsen panel-only system, NXT’s overall viewership was down 25.2 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 56.3 percent.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership numbers and 18-49 demo ratings for NXT, as well as the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s episode was down 21.2 percent in overall viewers and 50 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

WWE SmackDown ratings up for Crown Jewel fallout episode

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Last Friday’s WWE SmackDown episode averaged 1.180 million viewers on USA Network, up 15 percent from the previous week. It’s the best audience total the show has done since Nielsen switched to its new “Big Data + Panel” ratings system at the beginning of October.

SmackDown drew a 0.28 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s up 27 percent from the October 10 episode and also marks the highest number for SmackDown since Nielsen made its switch to the new system.

On a night with heavy sports competition — including two MLB Championship Series games, as well as college football on both Fox and ESPN — SmackDown finished ninth on television in the key demo.

As compared to the same week in 2024, using the old measurement system, SmackDown’s overall viewership was down 14.2 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 33.3 percent.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership totals and 18-49 demo ratings for SmackDown, along with the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s show was down 8.5 percent in overall viewers and 20 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

Note: Prior to October, ratings were calculated under the old panel-only method. Since the switch, wrestling ratings have generally been lower than they were previously.

AEW Dynamite ratings up for WrestleDream go-home show

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Wednesday night’s episode of AEW Dynamite averaged 534,000 viewers on TBS, up 66.4% from last week’s Tuesday night airing and up 14.8% from the last Wednesday airing two weeks ago. AEW Collision, which immediately followed Dynamite, averaged 400,000 viewers. That’s down 25.2% from the last time it aired after Dynamite, although those numbers were calculated using Nielsen’s former ratings calculation method.

Dynamite averaged a 0.11 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s up 57.1% from last Tuesday and up 22.2% from the previous Wednesday airing. Collision averaged the same rating, which was down 8.3% from the last time it followed Dynamite.

The audience retention for Collision was 74.9% in total viewers as opposed to 80.9% the last time they did a 3 hour Wednesday block although the 18-49 retention was 100% as compared to 85.7% previously.

As compared to the same week in 2024, under the old ratings method, Dynamite’s total viewership was down 15.6% while the 18-49 rating was down 45%. Collision aired on it’s regular night and time last year so year over year comparisons aren’t relevant. This year’s numbers do not include viewership on HBO Max.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of overall viewership and 18-49 demo ratings for AEW Dynamite on TBS and AEW Collision as well as the 10 week average in both categories for both shows. This week’s Dynamite was down 6.3% in total viewers and 15.4% in 18-49 as compared to recent averages while Collision was up 44.1% in total viewers and 83.3% in 18-49, which shows the benefit of following Dynamite on Wednesdays.

AEW Collision ratings up despite strong competition

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Saturday night’s Homecoming episode of AEW Collision averaged 286,000 viewers on TNT, up 26.6 percent from the previous week. This is the largest audience total for the show since September 17, when it aired after AEW Dynamite on a Wednesday. Compared to other Saturday episodes, this is the best number for Collision since September 6.

Collision drew a 0.06 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s double what the show did last week and is also the highest rating Collision has done on a Saturday since the September 6 broadcast.

The show went head-to-head with a slate of college football games on several networks as well as an MLB Divisional series game on TBS. Collision placed 12th on the prime time cable charts in terms of 18-49 rating.

In both viewership and the demo, the top two broadcasts on Saturday were a Georgia vs. Auburn college football game and the Milwaukee Brewers vs. Chicago Cubs MLB game.

As compared to the same week in 2024, using Nielsen’s old panel-only ratings system, Collision’s overall viewership was down 17.3 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 40 percent. This year’s numbers do not include people watching the HBO Max simulcast.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership totals and 18-49 demo ratings for Collision. It should be noted that, starting in October, Nielsen’s new Big Data + Panel ratings system has been used to measure ratings, although Collision’s numbers haven’t been negatively affected as much as other wrestling shows. This week’s episode was down 1.8 percent in overall viewers but steady in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

WWE SmackDown ratings down against big MLB playoff number

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Friday night’s WWE SmackDown averaged 1.025 million viewers on USA Network, down 0.5 percent from the previous week. That sets a new record low for a SmackDown episode airing on USA Network and is the lowest overall number for the show since a November 2023 edition on FS1.

The episode took place in Australia and aired live on Netflix overseas before being shown on tape delay for the USA Network airing. In the 18-49 demo, the broadcast drew a 0.22 rating. That’s down 4.3 percent from last week and is also a record low for SmackDown on USA Network. It’s SmackDown’s lowest overall rating in that category since a Best Of special on New Year’s Eve 2021 that did a 0.08.

SmackDown finished fifth on television in the key demo. It went head-to-head with a Seattle Mariners vs. Detroit Tigers game on Fox that averaged 8.049 million viewers and drew a 1.74 rating in 18-49, making it the most-watched MLB Divisional series playoff game in 14 years. There was also competition from a WNBA Finals game on ESPN and college football on ESPN2.

As compared to the same week in 2024, when the ratings were still measured under Nielsen’s old panel-only system, SmackDown’s overall viewership was down 38 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 55.1 percent.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership numbers and 18-49 demo ratings for SmackDown, along with the 10-week average in both categories. Prior to October 3, the ratings were reported under the old system with Nielsen’s new Big Data + Panel method replacing it that week. Since then, wrestling numbers have taken a big hit across the board compared to what they were previously doing.