WWE SmackDown Ratings: Viewership and Demo Ratings Down Against NBA Finals

The overnight WWE SmackDown ratings and viewership figures are in, and this week's edition of SmackDown saw the show average 2.043 million viewers. This number is based off of a first hour that did 2.105 million viewers and a second hour drop that drew 1.980 million viewers. These are the overnight figures and final numbers will be in Monday, at which time we will likely see a small increase to the overall viewership. Last week's SmackDown did a final number of 2.110 million viewers, so this week's show was down slightly but could come in pretty close to that figure when final numbers are revealed on Monday.

In the coveted 18-49 age group ratings demographic, SmackDown did a 0.55 rating according to the overnights. This ranked fourth for the night on network television, being defeated by Jimmy Kimmel Live, NBA Countdown, and the NBA Finals game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat. Last week's show did a 0.60 rating in this demo. Notably, the NBA Finals game began during SmackDown's second hour, which is when WWE's viewership dropped off slightly.

Among 18-34 year olds, SmackDown drew a 0.25 demo rating. This ranked six among network competition, being defeated by Jimmy Kimmel Live, NBA Countdown, Greatest #AtHome Videos, Undercover Boss, and the NBA Finals. This was down from last week, when the show drew a 0.30 18-34 demo rating.

In terms of pure viewership this week, SmackDown's 2.043 million viewers ranked eighth among network competition. The show was defeated by Jimmy Kimmel Live, NBA Countdown, Greatest #AtHome Videos, Undercover Boss, Dateline NBC, Blue Bloods, and the NBA Finals.

SmackDown this week featured an opening segment face-off between Roman Reigns and Jey Uso that set-up a rematch between the pair for Hell In A Cell, a Kevin Owens Show segment featuring Alexa Bliss and The Fiend, Sasha Banks delivering a promo for her match next Friday night against Bayley, and a main event between Jeff Hardy and Sami Zayn.

WWE is ramping up the heat for next week's show, which will feature the WWE Draft, Kevin Owens vs. The Fiend, Sasha Banks vs. Bayley, and more. What did you think of this week's show? Let us know in the comments section below and give me a follow on Twitter @ryandroste for all things WWE!