WWE Smackdown Ratings Report (9/13): Dropoff and gain from move to USA Network from Fox, viewership and demo comparisons, year-ago contrast

By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

September 16, 2024

Screenshot 2024-09-16 at 3.06.35 PM — Cody Rhodes

SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...

Friday night’s (9/13) episode of WWE Smackdown on USA Network averaged 1.723 million viewers according to Wrestlenomics, compared to 1.770 million viewers the prior week and the 2.054 million viewers the week before that. This is the first week the show has aired on USA Network, a basic cable station, rather than the free over-the-air broadcast network Fox. The ten-week rolling average before this week was 2.102 million viewers..

One year ago this week, Smackdown drew 2.570 million viewers. The ten-week rolling average a year ago was 2.206 million viewers.

Two years ago this week, Smackdown drew 2.122 million viewers. Then ten-week rolling average was 2.119 million viewers.

In the key 18-49 demo, it drew a 0.55 rating, compared to 0.45 and 0.53 the prior two weeks. The ten-week rolling average is 0.59.

Viewership in the key 18-49 demo was actually up 132,000 compared to last week. Last week, though, was one of the lowest rated Smackdowns on Fox, and it had the lowest 18-49 demo of the year because it went up against an NFL game on Peacock and AEW Collision on TNT. The average through the first 35 weeks of the year before last week’s dropoff was 0.64.

The 18-49 demo being up could be a result of more people with cable being in the 18-49 demo and people 50 and over being less likely to remember Smackdown moved to USA.

The announced matches and segments were…