SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
AEW Dynamite last night (2/9) averaged 1.129 million viewers, a big jump over last week’s 0.954 million viewers and the highest total since Sept. 29. Dynamite averaged more than 1.1 million viewers every week from Aug. 25 to Sept. 29, which a peak of 1.319 million, during the stretch of time new free agent signings were showing up on TV. Last night’s show was heavily hyped since last Friday night on Rampage as having a big free agent debuting.
Tony Khan has noted that the free agent signing was just going to be Keith Lee, but because he had used the “forbidden door” phrase, he also made a late effort to bring in New Japan main event star Jay White for a cameo.
The two free agent debuts, the mystery partner for C.M. Punk, and the AEW World Title match were among the reasons Dynamite drew so well relative to other shows in recent months.
The 18-49 demo rating was 0.41, up from 0.35 last week, tied with two weeks ago, and below the 0.44 three weeks ago. The ten week average heading into this week was 0.37. AEW finished no. 1 for the night among all cable shows, beating the NBA game on ESPN which drew a 0.39.
In the male 18-49 demo, it drew a 0.58, above last week’s 0.48 and tied with 0.58 from two weeks ago.
The younger male demo of 18-34 year olds drew a 0.34 rating, up from 0.23 last week. It was the highest in that demo since Sept. 22 last year.
The “Internet buzz” and p.r. blitz Khan employed since last week’s disappointing rating might have been key to increasing viewership so much, especially among younger viewers more likely to see the social media buzz online.
The 7-day viewership total for the Jan. 26 episode is now in; that show averaged a total 1.262 million, the highest since Sept. 29.
It was not Jay Lethal. It was Jay White!