SmackDown also ranked #2 in total viewership for network TV, up from last week’s #3 ranking.
The Friday’s live edition of WWE SmackDown drew an average of 2.133 million viewers on FOX, according to Nielsen. This was a 4.37% decrease from the previous week. The show also had a 0.53 rating in the key 18-49 demographic, a 7.69% decrease. Despite this, SmackDown was still #1 in ratings for the key 18-49 demographic on network TV and #2 in total viewership for network TV. Sources: Showbuzz Daily, Wrestlenomics. This week’s SmackDown ranked #1 in the 18-34 and 25-54 demos, and #6 in viewership on network TV. Despite lower ratings, SmackDown still outperformed the 2022 FOX average in viewership and the key demo rating.
This week’s SmackDown drew the second-lowest total audience and fourth-lowest key demo rating of the year, yet still outperformed the 2022 FOX average in viewership and the key demo rating. SmackDown was #1 in the 18-34 and 25-54 demos and #6 in viewership on network TV compared to the same week in 2022, while viewership was up 5.02% and the key demo rating was up 17.77%. Wrestling Inc., ShowBuzzDaily
The NHL Playoffs game between Dallas and Seattle on ESPN topped the day on the Cable Top 150 with a 0.67 rating and 2.042 million viewers. Friday’s live edition of SmackDown aired from the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, SC, with a line-up of matches featuring Asuka vs. Zelina Vega, Street Profits vs. LA Knight and Rick Boogs, and The Usos vs. Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar. ESPN, WWE. 65 rating in the 18-49 demographic
March 3 Episode: 2.385 million viewers with a 0.60 rating in the 18-49 demographic
Top 10 Moments:
- Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso & King Corbin
- Lana and Naomi vs. The Riott Squad
- Big E vs. Chad Gable
- The Miz and John Morrison vs. Rey Mysterio & Dominik Mysterio
- Dolph Ziggler vs. Apollo Crews
- Bayley vs. Liv Morgan
- Otis and Chad Gable vs. The Miz & John Morrison
- Bianca Belair vs. Nia Jax
- Tucker Knight vs. Mustafa Ali
- Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins
The 2023 SmackDown Viewership Tracker showed an increase in viewership between the January 6 episode (2.257 million viewers) and the February 10 episode (2.468 million viewers). The highest rating for the 18-49 demographic was a 0.67 for the 225 million viewers with a 0.62 rating in the 18-49 demographic
The March 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31 episodes of professional wrestling had 2.451, 2.320, 2.258, 2.219 and 2.484 million viewers respectively, with a 0.59, 0.63, 0.59, 0.58 and 0.69 rating in the 18-49 demographic respectively. The post-WrestleMania 39 episode on April 7 had 2.468 million viewers with a 0.69 rating in the 18-49 demographic. The April 14, 21 and 28 episodes had 2.265, 2.175 and 2.225 million viewers respectively, with a 0.58, 0.54 and 0.62 rating in the 18-49 demographic respectively. Two hyperlinks for further reading about professional wrestling viewership and ratings are Nielsen ratings and Professional wrestling in the United States. 631 million viewers per episode over 52 episodes
2021 18-49 Key Demo Rating Average: 0.65 rating per episode over 52 episodes
The WWE Draft episode had 473 million viewers and a 0.67 rating in the 18-49 demographic (May 5). The viewership and rating for the post-Backlash episode (May 12) was 2.149 million viewers and 0.56 rating respectively. The viewership and rating for the May 19 episode was 2.133 million viewers and 0.53 rating respectively. The May 26 episode had 2.123 million viewers with a 0.51 rating in the 18-49 demographic over 52 episodes. The viewership and rating for FOX episodes (over 50 episodes) was 2.173 million viewers and 0.53 rating respectively. The 2021 viewership and rating for the 52 episodes was 2.631 million viewers and 0.65 rating respectively. Two hyperlinks with anchor texts: WWE Ratings 2022, Key Demo and Viewership and WWE Ratings 2021, Key Demo and Viewership. 566 million viewers per episode (1 FS1 airing)
AEW had an average of 2.127 million viewers per episode and a 0.56 rating per episode on FOX in 2021. On FS1, the average was 758,667 viewers per episode with a 0.20 rating per episode (including Best Of episode). In 2020, 2.180 million viewers per episode and in 2019, 2.164 million viewers per episode were reported. In 2018, 2.566 million viewers per episode were reported. [Sporting News, Showbuzz Daily] This is down 8.9% from last week’s show, which had an average of 2.346 million viewers.
WWE SmackDown viewership was down 8.9% for the week of May 19th, with an average of 2.133 million viewers per episode. This is lower than the 2017 average of 2.546 million viewers per episode. The information was provided by Nielsen and Showbuzz Daily. This week’s SmackDown averaged 2.054 million viewers, down 4.37% from the previous week’s 2.149 million viewers.
SmackDown’s ratings for the key 18-49 demographic dropped 7.69% to 0.53, and viewership dropped 4.37% to 2.054 million viewers. The show ranked #1 for 18-49 and 18-34 demographic on network TV and #6 in viewership. According to Wrestlenomics, this 0.53 key demo rating represents 691,000 18-49 viewers, a decrease of 7.82%. Friday’s episode of SmackDown on FOX drew 5.784 million viewers with a 0.34 rating in the 18-49 demographic, the second-lowest viewership and fourth-lowest rating of the year. SmackDown was up 5.02% in viewership and 17.77% in the key demo rating compared to the same week in 2022, but down 4.37% in viewership and 7.69% in the key demo rating from the previous week. Dallas vs. Seattle NHL Playoffs game on ESPN topped the day with 2.042 million viewers and a 0.67 key demo rating. Sportskeeda’s Top 10 Ratings for SmackDown in June 2022, Showbuzz Daily’s Top 150 Friday Cable Originals Network Finals 6/28/2022. 361 million viewers with a 0.55 rating in the 18-49 demographic
SmackDown on January 20th featured matches between Asuka vs. Zelina Vega, LA Knight & Rick Boogs vs. Street Profits, Pretty Deadly’s debut vs. Ridge Holland & Butch, Uso’s vs. Escobar & Mysterio, plus a faceoff between Roman Reigns & Sol Sikoa and Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn. Viewership for the episode reached 2.361 million viewers with a 0.55 rating in the 18-49 demographic. Top 10 moments from the episode and the January 2023 SmackDown Viewership Tracker are available. 60 rating in the 18-49 demographic
The professional wrestling industry had an overall viewership of 257 million with a 0.55 rating in the 18-49 demographic in January. From then until March 17, the viewership decreased from 2.544 million viewers to 2.258 million viewers with a corresponding decrease in the 18-49 demographic rating from 0.67 to 0.60. Two post-pay-per-view episodes were present in this timeframe, with the Royal Rumble episode’s viewership being 2.384 million and the Elimination Chamber episode’s viewership being 2.408 million. Hyperlinks: Royal Rumble 2021, Elimination Chamber 2021. 051 million viewers with a 0.53 rating in the 18-49 demographic
The WWE Raw viewership ratings for the 18-49 demographic between March 24 and May 19, 2020, varied from a 0.58 to a 0.69 rating. The Post-WrestleMania 39 (April 7) and WWE Draft (April 28) episodes achieved the highest ratings of 0.69, while the Post-Backlash (May 12) episode achieved the second highest rating of 0.56. The lowest ratings were achieved on March 24 and April 14 with a 0.58 rating. The April 7 episode and May 12 episode had the highest and second highest ratings, respectively. 56 rating per episode over 50 episodes
The May 26 episode of professional wrestling had 133 million viewers with a 0.53 rating in the 18-49 demographic. The 2022 viewership average is 2.123 million viewers per episode over 52 episodes and a 0.51 rating per episode in the 18-49 key demo. For FOX, the 2022 average viewership is 2.173 million viewers per episode over 50 episodes and a 0.53 rating in the 18-49 key demo. The 2021 viewership average is 2.050 million viewers per episode over 52 episodes (2,082,154 without Best Of episode) and a 0.54 rating per episode in the 18-49 key demo. For FOX, the 2021 viewership average is 2.127 million viewers per episode over 50 episodes and a 0.56 rating in the 18-49 key demo. [Wrestling Perspective] [Pro Wrestling Sheet]
Averaging 758,667 viewers per episode (949,000 without Best Of episode) and 0.20 rating per episode (0.27 without it), viewership for professional wrestling on FS1 has decreased since 2017 when it had an average of 2.546 million viewers per episode. Follow Marc on Twitter at @this_is_marc or send any news, tips or corrections to us by [clicking here](mailto:[email protected]). The previous week’s WWE SmackDown viewership and key demo rating were down compared to the prior week. According to Wrestling Headlines, an analysis of these ratings provides insight into the future of WWE programming.
This article was originally published on Wrestling Headlines here and here.