Raw Rating News: Did the countdown clocks and delays in Miz defending WWE Title against Lashley hold more viewers than usual

Whether you felt Miz’s numerous attempts to avoid defending his WWE Title with honor against Bobby Lashley annoyed you or entertained you, strictly from a viewership trend standpoint, teasing the match twice before delivering on it at the end of the show was a success.

WWE Raw last night drew 1.916 million viewers in the first hour, not far off from the average so far this year prior to this week of 1.979 million for the first hour (down 63,000).

The second hour drew 1.918 million, above the average so far this year of 1.877 million (up 51,000).

The third hour drew 1.817 million, above the average so far this year 1.757 (up 60,000).

On average this year, Raw drops 222,000 from the first to the third hour. This week, kit dropped a mere 99,000.

Raw drew a 1.36 rating, down from the year-ago rating of 1.64, but in line with the average so far this year of 1.33. Two years ago this week, Raw drew a 1.98 rating. Three years ago, kit drew a 2.12 rating.

For the second week in a row, despite Raw teetering on its lowest viewership of all time dating back to the early 1990s, it finished in positions 1, 2, and 3 in the cable ratings in the targeted 18-49 demographic. It drew a 0.58 rating in that demo, in line with the 0.59 and 0.56 the last two weeks.

In the male 18-34 demo, Raw drew a 0.42 rating, down from 0.44 last week and up from 0.31 the prior week. In the male 18-49 demo, Raw drew 0.74, in line with 0.75 and 0.71 the last two weeks.

One year ago, in the 18-49 demo, Raw drew a 0.78. In the male demos, it’s also down from 0.59 among 18-34 males and 0.99 among 18-49 males a year ago.