Tag: Wwe Smackdown Ratings

WWE SmackDown ratings down against College Football Playoffs

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Friday night’s WWE SmackDown episode averaged 1.326 million viewers on USA Network, down 13.3 percent from the previous week. It’s the lowest audience total for the show since November 15 and is the second-lowest since SmackDown returned to USA Network.

The show finished third on cable with a 0.37 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s down 21.3 percent from last week, and it’s also the second-lowest rating SmackDown has done in that category since returning to USA, beating only the November 15 episode.

SmackDown went head-to-head with a Notre Dame vs. Indiana College Football Playoff game airing on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2. The games itself averaged more than 13 million viewers between the networks. The pre-game shows on both channels rounded out the top shows on television, and programming related to the game was the only thing that beat SmackDown in the key demo.

As compared to the same week in 2023, SmackDown’s overall viewership was down 37.1 percent while its 18-49 rating was down 32.3 percent (from an episode that aired on Fox).

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership totals and 18-49 demo ratings for SmackDown, as well as the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s show was down 9.1 percent in overall viewers and 14 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

WWE SmackDown ratings up for SNME go-home show

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Friday night’s episode of WWE SmackDown averaged 1.53 million viewers on the USA Network, up 2.4% from the previous week, which did 1.49 million. It’s the largest audience for the show since November 22nd.

SmackDown topped the cable charts for the day according to Wrestlenomics with a 0.47 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s up 6.8% from the December 6th show and ties the highest rating the show has done in that category since October 11th.

As compared to the same week in 2023, when the show still aired on FOX, the overall audience was down 31.7% while the 18-49 rating was down 14.6%.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of overall viewership and 18-49 demo ratings for WWE SmackDown on the USA Network as well as the 10 week average in both categories. This week’s show was up 5% in overall viewers and 9.3% in 18-49 as compared to recent averages.

WWE SmackDown ratings up following Survivor Series

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Friday night’s WWE SmackDown episode averaged 1.494 million viewers on USA Network, up 11.4 percent from the previous week. It’s the third-largest audience total for the show since October 11.

SmackDown drew a 0.44 rating in the 18-49 demo, which topped the prime time cable charts for the day. That’s up 10 percent from last week, which was also the third-best rating the show has done in that category since the October 11 episode.

The show went head-to-head with a conference championship college football game on Fox that averaged three million viewers and topped all of television with a 0.70 rating. There was also an NBA game on ESPN that drew a 0.31 and another college football game on ABC that did a 0.28.

As compared to the same week in 2023, when SmackDown still aired on Fox, the show’s overall viewership was down 37.3 percent while its 18-49 rating was down 30.2 percent.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership totals and 18-49 demo ratings for SmackDown, as well as the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s show was up two percent in overall viewers and 2.3 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

WWE SmackDown ratings down on Black Friday

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Friday night’s WWE SmackDown averaged 1.341 million viewers on USA Network, down 15 percent from the previous week. It’s the second-lowest audience total the show has done since moving back to that network in September.

The episode was taped in advance and was the go-home show for Survivor Series. It finished first on cable, and fourth overall on television in prime time, with a 0.40 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s down 13 percent from the November 22 episode and is also the second-lowest rating SmackDown has drawn since returning to USA.

SmackDown faced stronger-than-usual sports competition on Black Friday with college football games on Fox, NBC, and ABC that combined for nearly 15 million viewers and a 2.82 rating in 18-49.

As compared to the same week in 2023, when the show still aired on Fox, Smackdown’s overall viewership was down 34.4 percent while its 18-49 rating was down 32.2 percent.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership totals and 18-49 demo ratings for SmackDown, as well as the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s show was down 9.4 percent in overall viewers and 9.1 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

Dave Meltzer’s AEW & WWE ratings analysis for last week’s shows

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

For the week of 11/11 to 11/17, in the cable entertainment category, Yellowstone on Paramount was first, followed by Raw, SmackDown, the debut of Landman on Paramount, and AEW Dynamite was fifth.

As far as overall in 18-49 on cable, Raw was 13th, behind five NFL related shows, two college football games, three NBA games, one college basketball game and Yellowstone. SmackDown was 22nd, lower than usual due to going against the Tyson-Paul fight. AEW Dynamite was 41st, even with its best number since late September.

Last year in the same week, Raw was first and AEW was fifth in entertainment and 15th and 25th overall. The main difference is that AEW was behind 13 FOX News shows during the week this year.

AEW Dynamite on 11/20, going against the Country Music Awards as well as the regular programming, did 640,000 viewers with a 0.20 (266,000 viewers) in 18-49 and an 0.12 in 18-34.

The CMA Awards on ABC did 6,092,000/0.81.

On cable, Dynamite was No. 5, behind two NBA games and two shows on FOX News. Chicago vs. Milwaukee NBA won the time slot at 1,217,000/0.35 but the later game after Dynamite was over won the night at 1,063,000/0.35 by 4,000 viewers. Jesse Watters did 3,734,000/0.25 for second place in hour one and Dynamite was third. In hour two, Dynamite was behind the NBA game but beat Hannity (2,972,000/0.19) by 3,000 viewers for second place. Other competition saw Real Housewives of Salt Lake City on Bravo at 444,000/0.16, Challenge on MTV at 341,000/0.15, Expedition Unknown on Discovery at 910,000/0.11, Sistas Series on BET at 744,000/0.09 and College Football on ESPN 2 with Ohio vs. Toledo at 414,000/0.08.

The Big Bang Theory lead-in did 973,000/0.17 which was the second highest entertainment show of the night behind Dynamite.

Dynamite was down 3.9 percent in viewers from last week, down 8.0 percent in 18-49 and up 15.6 percent in 18-34.

The show did 62,000 in men 18-34 (up 24.0 percent from last week), 27,000 in women 18-34 (same as last week), 122,000 in men 35-49 (down 17.6 percent) and 55,000 in women 35-49 (down 14.1 percent from last week).

The show only did 1.31 viewers per home and the audience was 69.2 percent male in 18-49.

From one year ago, it was down 23.9 percent in viewers, down 21.1 percent in 18-49 and down 21.9 percent in 18-34.  Factoring in homes lost by cable, the real drops were 19.1 percent in viewers, 13.1 percent in 18-49 and 14.0 percent in 18-34.

It opened with 747,000 viewers and 296,000 in 18-49 for Will Ospreay & Mark Davis & Powerhouse Hobbs & Ricochet vs. Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher & Lance Archer & Brian Cage.

The rest of that match, promos with Darby Allin and the Death Riders and the Hurt Syndicate and Swerve Strickland angle did 671,000 viewers and 275,000 in 18-49.

Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly, a Conglomeration promo and Kris Statlander vs. Hikaru Shida did 634,000 viewers and 249,000 in 18-49.

The rest of Shida vs. Statlander, Mercedes Mone & Kamille, Hurt Syndicate and Bobby Lashley vs. Cheeseburger & Joe Keys did 667,000 viewers and 273,000 in 18-49.

The post-match stuff with Hurt Syndicate, Sweve Strickland and Prince Nana, Mina Shirakawa and Mariah May and star of Darby Allin vs. Claudio Castagnoli did 649,000 viewers and 269,000 in 18-49.

The end of Allin vs. Castagnoli, Private Party, A.J. The Costco guy and Big Justice, Roderick Strong and MJF promos did 630,000 viewers and 263,000 in 18-49.

Angles with Daniel Garcia and Jack Perry, Chris Jericho and Tomohiro Ishii which involved The Conglomeration and Learning Tree and Jamie Hayster promo did 594,000 viewers and 255,000 in 18-49.

The Julia Hart video and Orange Cassidy vs. Wheeler Yuta did 549,000 viewers and 246,000 in 18-49.

The end of that match and post-match with the Death Rider and Conglomeration did 597,000 viewers and 276,000 in 18-49.

NXT on 11/19 did 672,000 viewers with an 0.19 (250,000 viewers) in 18-49 and an 0.11 in 18-34.

The key to this being well above usual numbers when they don’t have main roster talent in key spots on the show, is the Chase U breakup angle. The Ridge Holland vs. Andre Chase main event for both a title shot and if Chase lost, he’d have to break up the group, in the main event slot, did 731,000 viewers and 0.21 which is much higher than main events usually do unless it’s a show with a major main roster star.

The biggest competition was Dancing with the Stars on ABC (5,187,000/0.75). CW once again beat FOX, which did an 0.14, to take fourth among the five networks. Cable competition included Cleveland vs. Boston NBA on TNT (1,691,000/0.50), Jessie Watters (4,038,000/0.27) and Hannity (3,322,000/0.20) on FOX News Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (796,000/0.20 and College Football with Miami of Ohio vs., Northern Illinois on ESPN (497,000/0.13).

The show was up 6.5 percent in viewers from the prior week, up 16.8 percent in 18-49 and even in 18-34.

The show did 1.37 viewers per home and 64.9 percent male in 18-49.

From one year ago on USA, the show was up 8.0 percent in viewers, up 1.6 percent in 18-49 and down 8.3 percent in 18-34.  

Raw on 11/18 did 1,516,000 viewers with an 0.49 (653,000 viewers) in 18-49 and an 0.32 in 18-34 for a taped show which is pretty impressive since it did the same in 18-49 for a taped show this week as last week even though last week had much easier NFL competition.

It was fourth on cable behind three NFL related shows on ESPN and second in the time slot.  The Houston Texans vs. Dallas Cowboys game did 8,622,000/1.46 on ABC, 7,490,000/2.42 on ESPN and 878,000/0.30 on ESPN 2 for a total of 16,990,000/4.18.  Raw beat everything on television for the day except the NFL.

The other competition was Jesse Watters (3,684,000/0.20) and Hannity (2,712,000/0.15) on FOX News, 90 Day Fiance Tow: Tel A on Bravo (932,000/0.18 and U.S. and USA vs. Jamaica soccer on TNT (273,000/0.11).

It was down 2.9 percent in viewers from last week, down 0.2 percent in 18-49 and up 3.2 percent in 18-49 even though football competition was tougher.

The first hour did 1,502,000 viewers and the second hour did 1,530,000 viewers.

The show did 1.41 viewers per home with 66.0 percent men in 18-49.

From one year ago, when the show went against a Chiefs vs. Eagles game that had more than 29 million viewers, it was up 3.9 percent in viewers, up 1.4 percent in 18-49 and down 3.0 percent in 18-34.  Factoring in homes lost by cable, the real percentage changes would be up 10.9 percent in viewers, up 11.5 percent in 18-49 and up 6.1 percent in 18-34. That makes sense given how much tougher the competition was last year.

Invincible Fight Girl, the Adult Swim show about a girl becoming a pro wrestler, airing at midnight, did 204,000 viewers and an 0.12 in 18-49. Aside from a Hallmark movie in prime time, it was the highest rated entertainment show on cable that day, beating Collision for that spot.

The taped Collision show on 11/16 did 356,000 viewers with an 0.11 (154,000 viewers) in 18-49 and 0.04 in 18-34.

The key was a bad number in men 18-34 but a good number in men 35-49.

Collision was No. 15 for the day on cable and fourth in the time slot was behind the UFC 309 prelims on FX (816,000/0.36), Arizona vs. Kansas State football on ESPN (849,000/0.21) and The Hallmark Christmas movie Jingle Bell Run (1,730,000/0.13).  It beat On Patrol Live, College Football on FS 1, College Football on the Big 10 network and College Basketball on the Big 10 Network. Network college football head-to-head saw Tennessee vs. Georgia on ABC (9,823,000/2.39), Oregon vs Washington on NBC (4,121,000/0.84) and Cincinnati vs. Iowa State on FOX (1,002,000/0.22).

The show was up 7.2 percent in viewers, up 14.1 percent in 18-49 and down 45.8 percent in 18-34.

The show did 12,000 in men 18-34 (down 66.7 percent), 14,000 in women 18-34 (up 16.7 percent), 95,000 in men 35-49 (up 50.8 percent) and 23,000 in women 35-49 (down 4.2 percent).  The show did 1.45 viewers per home and was 69.5 percent male viewers in 18-49.

From the prior year, with the show out of its regular slot so these comparisons don’t mean anything, It was up 31.9 percent in viewers, up 38.7 percent in 18-49 and down 38.1 percent in 18-34. The big increase was just because of comparing a show in its regular slot this year to one out of it last year.

Going against the Netflix broadcast of boxing, both wrestling shows on 11/15 did among their worst numbers ever. Really you can throw these numbers out regarding comparisons because they are total flukes.

Rampage on 11/15 did among its lowest numbers ever, doing head-to-head with the Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano fight. It did 186,000 viewers with an 0.06 (75,000 viewers) in 18-49s and a record low 0.02 in 18-34.

Rampage didn’t crack the top 25 for the night.  In the time slot, it was seventh behind Memphis vs, Golden State NBA game on ESPN (1,027,000/0.24, extremely low for the Warriors on ESPN), Gutfeld on FOX News (2,819,000/0.17), Scare Tactics on USA with the SmackDown lead-in (380,000/0.15), Mexico vs. Honduras soccer on Univision Deportes (237,000/0.09), On Patrol Live on Reelz (496,000/0.08), and Marquette vs. Maryland college basketball on FS 1 (221,000/0.07against the first 30 minutes of Rampage).

It was down 21.5 percent from the prior week in viewers, down 16.7 percent in 18-49 and down 31.8 percent in 18-34.

It did 10,000 in men 18-34 (down 16.7 percent from last week), 5,000 in women 18-34 (down 50.0 percent), 52,000 in men 35-49 (up 18.2 percent from last week which is shocking given the competition and 8,000 in women 35-49 (down 66.7 percent).

The show did just 1.23 viewers per home and the audience was 82.7 percent male in 18-49, which is an incredibly high percentage for a wrestling show.

From one year ago, it was down 33.6 percent in viewers, down 38,0 percent in 18-49 and down 57.1 percent in 18-34. Factoring in homes lost by cable doesn’t make much of a difference as the declines were 28.9 percent in viewers, down 31.4 percent in 18-49 and down 52.9 percent in 18-34.

SmackDown did its lowest numbers ever for a show on the USA Network, but there were FS1 shows in recent years that did lower numbers.

The show did 1,234,000 viewers with a 0.32 (432,000 viewers) in 18-49 and a 0.20 in 18-34.

What’s notable is the numbers were way down even though the Amanda Serrano vs. Katie Taylor fight didn’t even start until after SmackDown was over, which shows that a giant audience watched the entire boxing show and not just the top two fights.

SmackDown was No. 2 on cable and on all of television even with the lower than usual number, behind only the Los Angeles Lakers vs. San Antonio Spurs NBA game on ESPN that did 1,280,000 viewers and an 0.36 in 18-49.

The declines from last week would be entirely due to the fight, as it was down 19.7 percent in viewers, down 32.2 percent in 18-49 and down 25.9 percent in 18-34.

The show did 1.40 viewers per home with 64.6 percent male in 18-49.

It was down 44.1 percent in viewers from the same week last year, down 47.0 percent in 18-49 and down 50.0 percent in 18-34, but that’s meaningless given cable instead of network and the competition.

WWE SmackDown ratings rebound, ranks first on TV for the night

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Friday night’s WWE SmackDown episode averaged 1.578 million viewers on the USA Network, up 27.9 percent from last week’s show that went against the Jake Paul/Mike Tyson boxing special on Netflix. It’s the highest audience total SmackDown has done since October 11 and the third-highest number the show has drawn since returning to USA Network in September.

SmackDown topped all of television with a 0.46 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s up 43.8 percent from last week and is the second-highest rating the show has done in that category since the October 11 episode.

The show went head-to-head with an NBA game on ESPN that finished third on TV with a 0.36 rating in the 18-49 demo and a college football game on Fox that did a 0.34 to finish fifth.

As compared to the same week in 2023, when the show was moved to FS1 due to Fox airing college football, SmackDown’s overall viewership was up 100 percent while the 18-49 rating was up 91.7 percent.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of overall viewership totals and 18-49 demo ratings for SmackDown, along with the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s show was up 5.6 percent in overall viewers and up 2.2 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

WWE SmackDown draws lowest ratings since moving to USA Network

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Friday night’s WWE SmackDown episode averaged 1.234 million viewers on USA Network, down 19.7 percent from the previous week. It’s the lowest audience total the show has drawn since moving back to USA Network and the lowest SmackDown has done since November 24 of last year for an episode that aired on FS1.

SmackDown drew a 0.32 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s down 31.9 percent from last week and is also the lowest since moving to USA. It’s SmackDown’s smallest 18-49 rating since a best-of 2023 episode last December.

The show aired head-to-head with the early portion of the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul boxing special. Netflix claimed a peak audience of 60 million households worldwide for that show, although most of those viewers would likely have tuned in after SmackDown ended. Hourly data is not currently available.

As compared to the same week in 2023 (when the show was on Fox), SmackDown’s overall audience was down 44.1 percent while its 18-49 rating was down 48.4 percent.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership totals and 18-49 demo ratings for SmackDown, as well as the 10-week average in both categories. The first week is from a Fox episode with the rest of the chart being USA Network airings. This week’s show was down 20.3 percent in overall viewers and down 30.4 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

WWE SmackDown ratings up, ranks first on TV

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Friday night’s WWE SmackDown episode, featuring the show’s fallout from Crown Jewel, averaged 1.536 million viewers on USA Network. That’s up 7.6 percent from the previous week and is the highest audience total for SmackDown since October 16.

SmackDown topped all of television in prime time with a 0.47 rating in the 18-49 demo. The rating is up 11.9 percent from last week and is also the best number the show has done in that category since the October 16 episode.

In terms of sports competition, SmackDown beat an NBA game that aired on ESPN head-to-head as well as a college football game on Fox that started an hour later and a college basketball game on ESPN2.

As compared to the same week in 2023, when SmackDown still aired on Fox, the show was down 30.1 percent in total viewers and 17.5 percent in 18-49.

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. The first two weeks on the chart are from Fox airings of the show with the last nine being on USA. This week’s episode was down four percent in overall viewers but steady in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

WWE SmackDown viewership up, 18-49 demo rating down

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Friday night’s WWE SmackDown averaged 1.428 million viewers on USA Network, up 0.7 percent from the previous week. It’s the best audience total for the show since October 11.

SmackDown drew a 0.42 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s down 2.3 percent from last week and ties the lowest rating the show has done since moving back to USA Network. This is SmackDown’s lowest rating since a best-of episode in December 2023.

The episode, which was taped in advance, was SmackDown’s go-home show for Crown Jewel and went head-to-head with college football on Fox as well as an NBA game on ESPN.

As compared to the same week in 2023, when the show still aired on Fox, SmackDown’s overall audience was down 32.6 percent while its 18-49 rating was down 20.8 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. The first three weeks are from Fox airings of the show with the last eight being on USA Network. This week’s episode was down 14.1 percent in overall viewers and down 12.5 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

WWE SmackDown ratings up despite World Series competition

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Friday night’s WWE SmackDown episode averaged 1.418 million viewers on USA Network, up 2.9 percent from the previous week. It’s still the second-lowest audience total the show has done since moving back to USA Network.

SmackDown drew a 0.43 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s up 2.4 percent from last week but is also the second-lowest rating the show has drawn in that category since returning to USA in September.

The show went head-to-head with game one of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees, which averaged more than 15 million viewers. It was the best audience for a World Series game one since 2017. This is the first time these two iconic franchises have met in the World Series since 1981.

As compared to the same week in 2023, a week where SmackDown was moved from Fox to FS1 due to World Series coverage, the show’s overall audience was up 23.8 percent while its 18-49 rating was up 22.9 percent. That’s a more fair comparison than the year-over-year numbers have been in recent weeks since FS1 and USA Network are in a similar number of households.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of overall viewership totals and 18-49 demo ratings for SmackDown, as well as the 10-week average in both categories. The first four weeks are from Fox airings while the last seven episodes were on USA Network. This week’s show was down 18.8 percent in overall viewers and down 14 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

WWE SmackDown draws lowest ratings since move to USA

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Friday night’s episode of WWE SmackDown averaged 1.378 million viewers on the USA Network, down 16.6% from the previous week. It’s the lowest audience the show has done since moving back to the network last month and the lowest overall since a ‘best of’ show on December 29th of last year.

SmackDown averaged a 0.42 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s down 14.3% from last week and also is the lowest since the move back to USA. Aside from last year’s ‘best of’ show, it’s the lowest rating the show has done in that category for a live show since November 24th of last year when it aired on FS1.

The show faced tougher than usual competition, airing head-to-head with MLB’s Divisional Championship coverage on TBS and FS1 as well as Game 4 of the WNBA Final on ESPN and the usual college football on FOX.

As compared to the same week in 2023 on FOX, the overall viewership was down 38.8% while the 18-49 rating was down 28.8%.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of overall viewership and 18-49 demo ratings for WWE SmackDown, as well as the 10-week average in both categories. The first five weeks were FOX airings with the last six airing on the USA Network. This week’s show was down 24.9% in overall viewers and 19.2% in 18-49 as compared to recent averages.

WWE SmackDown ratings up, tops cable charts

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Friday night’s WWE SmackDown averaged 1.652 million viewers on the USA Network. That’s up 8.9 percent from the previous week and is the best audience total for the show since its September 13 debut episode on USA.

SmackDown drew a 0.49 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s up 4.3 percent from last week and was first for the day on cable television, beating out college football on both ESPN and FS1.

The show also faced significant competition from game five of the NLDS in Major League Baseball, which aired on Fox and was the top telecast for the day on either network or cable television.

As compared to the same week in 2023, when SmackDown was still on Fox, the show’s overall viewership was down 31.7 percent while its 18-49 rating was down 21 percent.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership totals and 18-49 demo ratings for SmackDown, as well as the 10-week average in both categories. The first six weeks are Fox airings of the show with the last five being on USA Network. This week’s episode was down 12.5 percent in overall viewers and down 7.5 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

WWE SmackDown viewership down, 18-49 rating up

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

The Friday, October 4 episode of WWE SmackDown averaged 1.518 million viewers on USA Network, down 3.2 percent from the previous week. It’s the second-lowest audience total of the four episodes since SmackDown moved back to USA Network last month.

SmackDown topped the prime time cable charts with a 0.47 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s up 4.4 percent from last week and is the best rating the show has done since September 13, the first episode back on USA.

Friday’s show was the Bad Blood go-home edition of SmackDown. It went head-to-head with college football on both ESPN and Fox as well as the WNBA playoffs on ESPN2. SmackDown was second on all of television behind the Fox college football game in terms of 18-49 rating.

As compared to the same week in 2023 (when the show still aired on Fox), SmackDown’s overall audience was down 34.5 percent while its 18-49 rating was down 26.6 percent.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of overall viewership totals and 18-49 demo ratings for SmackDown, along with the 10-week average in both categories. The first seven weeks on the chart are from when the show was still on Fox with the last four being USA Network broadcasts. This week’s show was down 21.8 percent in overall viewers and down 13 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

WWE SmackDown ratings up, beats Fox college football coverage in key demo

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Friday night’s episode of WWE SmackDown averaged 1.568 million viewers on the USA Network, up 4.9% from the previous week. It’s the highest audience for the show since the USA debut two weeks earlier.

SmackDown was second on the cable charts, and all television, with a 0.45 rating in the 18-49 demo, trailing only a college football game that went head to head on ESPN and did a 0.93. It beat the FOX football game that replaced it on that network and did a 0.38 rating.

The two games that aired head to head on ESPN and FOX averaged over 5 million viewers between them and a 1.29 rating in the key demo.

Compared to the same week in 2023 when the show aired on FOX, the overall viewership was down 31.9% while the 18-49 rating was down 25%. That’s consistent with the yearly drops in the first two weeks on USA.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of overall viewership and 18-49 demo ratings for WWE SmackDown as well as the 10-week average in both categories. The first 8 weeks listed were FOX airings. This week’s show was down 22.2% in overall viewers and 19.6% in 18-49 as compared to recent averages.