WWE Raw draws improved ratings and highest viewership for WWE Draft episode last night, WWE touts increase

This week’s episode of WWE Monday Night Raw drew a stronger than usual Nielsen rating of 1.35, buoyed by the WWE Draft being incorporated into the show along with a Charlotte vs. Bianca Belair first-ever singles match. The rating is above the ten-week rolling average of 1.32 and even more above the September average of 1.25. It also drew a 0.52 rating in the 18-49 demographic, tied for the best in the last five weeks, although below pre-Monday Night Football weeks in August, which averaged 0.55 and peaked at 0.64.

Raw averaged 1.858 million viewers including a first-hour viewership average of nearly 2 million – 1.949. That’s the first viewership average above 1.9 million since Sept. 6. The first-to-third hour dropoff was more steep than average, with 228,000 fewer viewers on average watching the third hour compared to the first. The average this year is 151,000.

WWE issued a rare ratings-related press release to PWTorch earlier today touting the viewership increase of 9 percent form last week and an 18-49 demo rating increase of 10 percent from last week.

Raw finished in positions 6, 7, and 8 among all cable shows on Monday night in the 18-49 demographic, behind only ESPN’s Monday Night Football game and related shows before and after. The NFL game drew an average of 12.319 million viewers, more than six times the average viewership of Raw.

In the male 18-49 demographic, Raw drew 0.66, the best rating since the Aug. 30 episode also drew that rating.

Next week’s episode will feature King of the Ring and Queen’s Crown tournament matches.

One year ago this week, Raw drew a 1.20 rating in ThunderDome. The WWE Draft last year took place on the second episode of October and drew a 1.30 rating, so this year’s Draft in front of a live audience in Nashville, Tenn. drew a bigger rating by 0.05.