WWE SmackDown Ratings: Viewership Drops This Week

This week's initial WWE SmackDown ratings report is in, and WWE saw their viewership drop this [...]

This week's initial WWE SmackDown ratings report is in, and WWE saw their viewership drop this week as compared to last week's broadcast. WWE SmackDown on FOX averaged 2.066 million viewers on Friday night, down from 2.181 million viewers last week, according to Showbuzz Daily. This week's number comes from a first hour that drew 2.018 million viewers and a second hour that 2.113 million. Last week's number was up for a show that featured the first appearance of new Universal Champion Roman Reigns with Paul Heyman at his side coming off of SummerSlam.

In terms of pure viewership, SmackDown ranked sixth place for the night among network competition. The show was outdrawn by Shark Tank, 20/20, Dateline NBC, MacGyver, and Blue Bloods.

In the coveted 18-49 age group ratings demographic, SmackDown drew a 0.55 rating this week in the overnights, ranking first place across network television on Friday night in the demo. This is down from the 0.60 that the show drew in the key demo last week. That number also ranked first place for the night among network competition. This week's number could change slightly by the time that final figures are released on Tuesday.

Among 18-34 year olds, SmackDown did a 0.30 rating. This is identical to that demo's rating from last week. This week and last, SmackDown ruled the 18-34 demo on network television as well, ranking first place.

This week's SmackDown was the best show the brand has produced in some time. It began with a fantastic promo in the ring with Paul Heyman and Roman Reigns, while also including the long-awaited split between Bayley and Sasha Banks, as well as Jey Uso becoming the number one contender in a fatal 4-way match in the SmackDown main event.

What did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown? Let us know in the comments section below, and give me a follow on Twitter @ryandroste for all things WWE.

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