Smackdown Rating: Post shake-up rating closes gap with Raw to 0.17, comparison to NBA and NHL game

Last night’s episode (4/23) of WWE Smackdown Live on USA Network drew a 1.53 rating and 2.072 million viewers, the lowest rating since the Feb. 5 episode. Last week’s episode drew a 1.62 rating.

The gap between Raw and Smackdown this week was 0.17. Last week it was 0.26. The average gap so far this year leading into this week was 0.30. This number, if tracked over time, can reflect whether there’s a shift in some viewers interest in either brand relative to the other. For instance, if the gap shrinks, Roman Reigns might be a reason some Raw viewers begin watching Smackdown instead or also. If the gap remains the same, it’s a testament to the viewing habits and brand loyalty of viewers rather than caring in particular about specific wrestler who were shifted.

One year ago this week Smackdown drew a 1.78 rating and two years ago it drew a 1.71, so the drop compared to recent years is sharp and alarming. The average through this week one year ago was 1.81, compared to 1.56 this year.

Two NBA games and an NBA post-game show all did better than Smackdown in the key 18-49 demo last night, with the Thunder-Trailblazers game drawing 3.112 million viewers and a 1.3 rating. The Nets-76ers game drew 2.275 million viewers and a 0.9 rating. The post-show drew 1.791 million viewers and a 0.8 rating. WWE Smackdown came in fourth in that key demo with a 0.7 rating and 2.072 million total viewers. The NHL game between Toronto and Boston drew 1.090 million viewers and a 0.5 demo rating.

Also, Miz & Mrs drew 940,000 viewers and drew a 0.4 rating in the 18-49 demo, landing at no. 9 in the key demo rankings.

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