WWE SmackDown Viewership and Key Demo Rating for the Post-SummerSlam Show with Several Preemptions
Friday’s live post-SummerSlam edition of WWE SmackDown drew an average of 2.097 million viewers on FOX, according to Nielsen, via Wrestlenomics. This final number is down 6.71% from the previous week’s final viewership of 2.248 million viewers for the SummerSlam go-home show.
Friday’s SmackDown drew a 0.55 rating in the key 18-49 demographic. This is down 11.29% from the previous week’s 0.62 rating. This past week’s 0.55 key demo rating represents 720,000 18-49 viewers, which is down 11.33% from the 812,000 18-49 viewers that the 0.62 key demo rating drew the previous week.
Friday’s SmackDown was preempted in several markets due to NFL pre-season games, so this was the lowest blue brand total audience since May 5 for the Backlash go-home show, and the lowest key demo rating since May 26 for the Night of Champions go-home show. SmackDown was preempted in the following markets on Friday due to NFL coverage: Atlanta, GA; Baltimore, MD; St. Louis, MO; El Paso, TX; Duluth, MN; Honolulu, HI; Louisville, KY; Richmond, VA; Toledo, OH; Wilkes Barre & Scranton, PA; Binghamton, NY; Peoria, IL; Gainesville, FL; Ft. Wayne, IN; Erie, PA; Lansing, MI; Johnstown, PA; Wheeling, WV. In all preempted markets, SmackDown aired either on a delay or on an affiliated broadcast network. Wrestlenomics adds that all preempted airings are counted by Nielsen in the number reported above. SmackDown suffered a similar decline in 2022 for the first preemption due to the NFL pre-season, when the show declined 10% total and 12% in the key demo versus the trailing four weeks. This was the second-lowest total audience of the year so far, and the fourth-lowest key demo rating of the year so far, tied with two other episodes. Friday’s show drew less than the 2022 FOX average in viewership, but the key demo rating was above the 2022 average. Friday’s SmackDown viewership was down 6.71% from the previous week, and the key demo rating was down 11.29% from the previous week.
Viewership for Friday’s SmackDown episode was up 8.3% from the same week in 2022, while Friday’s 18-49 key demo rating was up 25% from the same week in 2022. The 2022 episode was the go-home show for SmackDown 1200.
Friday’s post-SummerSlam edition of SmackDown on FOX aired live from the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, with the following line-up advertised ahead of time – SummerSlam fallout, Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair, AJ Styles vs. Karrion Kross, WWE United States Champion Austin Theory defending against Santos Escobar, plus Jimmy Uso and Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns appearing after Jey Uso’s Tribal Combat loss at SummerSl