Raw Rating: Details on ratings being affected by College Football Championship on ESPN, key metrics, past year comparisons

This week’s episode of WWE Monday Night Raw (1/13) drew a 1.49 rating. That is down from the previous two weeks which drew ratings for 1.69 each week, but this week’s episode went up against the College Football Championship game on ESPN, which drew a monster 25 million viewers and 7.5 ratings the 18-49 demographic.

Supplementary programming on ESPN before and after the game held positions 2 through 8 in the top ranked shows in the 18-49 demographic on Monday night. Raw finished in positions no. 9, 10, and 13.

Hour viewership for Raw: 2.218 million, 2.059 million, and 1.814 million. The first-to-third hour drop-off was 404,000 above the 2019 average of 325,000 and higher than last week’s 355,000. Raw’s third hour started with the conclusion of the Becky Lynch-Asuka contract signing and ended with the so-called “Fist Fight” six-man tag match with Seth Rollins & AOP vs. Big Show & Kevin Owens & Samoa Joe.

One year ago, Raw drew a 1.89 rating, which was the best rating it had drawn since the prior October. Last week, Raw beat the prior year’s rating by a 1.69 to 1.64 margin. Two years ago this week Raw drew a 2.21. Three years ago this week, Raw drew a 2.16.

Next week’s Raw features a ladder match between Rey Mysterio and Andrade with the U.S. Title on the line.

RELATED: WWE Raw ties last week’s rating, beats year-ago rating, key metrics including how third hour fared with surprise teaser leading to Big Show