WWE Smackdown Ratings Report: Lowest viewership and ratings in months

WWE Smackdown last Friday (5/5) drew an average of 2.059 million viewers, a sharp decline from the 2.473 million for the WWE Draft episode the prior week and the year-to-date average of 2.361 million. Smackdown faced competition from NBA and NHL playoffs. The last time Smackdown drew fewer than 2.1 million viewers on Fox was Sept. 2 last year when it drew 2.077 million.

One year ago, the May 6, 2022 episode drew 1.998 million viewers, so Smackdown still beat year-ago numbers.

The U.S. household rating was 1.23, down from 1.40 the prior week and below the year-to-date average of 1.41.

In the 18-49 target demo, Smackdown drew a 0.52 rating, down from 0.67 the prior week and below the year-to-date average of 0.61. Smackdown ranked no. 1 in that key demo, according to Showbuzz Daily. That’s the lowest rating for Smackdown on Fox since drawing a 0.48 on Nov. 4 last year. It also drew a 0.52 rating on Dec. 16 last year. Episodes preempted from Fox and moved to the FS1 cable station on occasion have drawn lower.

The 18-49 male demo drew a 0.65, down fro 0.89 the prior week and below the year-to-date average of 0.77.

This episode of Smackdown was the last episode before the WWE Draft roster realignment takes effect and advertised special appearances by Bad Bunny and Cody Rhodes. It also featured Karrion Kross vs. Shinsuke Nakamura.