WWE SmackDown Ratings: Numbers Back To Reality This Week

After a massive bump last week due to a great NFL lead-in, this week's WWE SmackDown ratings and viewership figures came back to reality. According to the overnights published to Showbuzz Daily, SmackDown averaged 1.915 million viewers on Friday night on FOX. This number comes from a first hour that drew 1.996 million viewers and a second hour that drew 1.834 million viewers. Last week's show averaged 3.303 million viewers.

In the key 18-49 age group ratings demographic, SmackDown drew a 0.50 rating. This ranked number one across network television on Friday night. It was down from the 0.96 rating the show drew last week in that demo.

SmackDown won the 18-34 demo ratings as well, drawing a 0.30 to rank first on network television for the night. It also won the 25-54 demo with a 0.60 rating.

SmackDown's total viewership this week ranked number eight across network television. The show was topped by Shark Tank, 20/20, MacGyver, Magnum P, Blue Bloods, The Weakest Link, and Dateline NBC. That's every other CBS, NBC, and ABC broadcast during prime time.

Final viewership and ratings viewership figures will be released on Tuesday, rather than the usual Monday, due to the holiday.

SmackDown this week was headlined by Kevin Owens taking on Jey Uso. It also featured a tag team match pitting Daniel Bryan and Otis against Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro. The show opened with a segment featuring Roman Reigns, Jey Uso, Paul Heyman, and Kevin Owens, following-up with the same characters on screen that opened the show the previous week when SmackDown drew such a large number with the NFL lead-in.

What did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown on FOX? Let us know in the comments section below!