Raw Rating: First viewership data of 2018 compared to last year’s debut show, hourly drop less than usual (w/Keller’s Analysis)

The first episode of WWE Monday Night Raw of 2018, among those watching live on USA Network on DVR the same night, drew a 1.94 rating, up from the Christmas night rating of 1.69, and a notch below the rolling ten-week average of 1.96.

One year ago, the first Raw of the new year drew a 2.09 rating.

Keller’s Analysis: The dropoff from the first to the third hour was 255,000, the lowest in over ten weeks. The show began with 2.969 million, stayed pretty steady at 2.912 million in the second hour, and dropped to just 2.714 million in the third hour. The drop-off two weeks ago, by comparison, was 625,000. 

Hour three opened with the conclusion of Samoa Joe challenging Roman Reigns for the Intercontinental Title and had the hook of Brock Lesnar’s show-closing appearance. In between included the crusierweight segment with Goldust and Finn Balor reuniting with Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows.

I’d say the Lesnar hook is probably the key to retaining the viewership, although the happenings in college football could have affected viewership trends more than a typical NFL Monday Night Football game.

NOW CHECK OUT THIS RECENT REPORT: 1/2 WWE Smackdown HOLT Report: Crowd reactions, pre-Smackdown dark match, post-Smackdown main event including “H2O” chants