Smackdown Rating: Key metrics for episode at the very top of all Tuesday cable shows in key demo, comparisons to past years

This week’s episode of WWE Smackdown Live on USA Network drew a 1.57 rating, down from last week’s rating of 1.65 and down from the year-ago-this-week rating of 1.73 and two-years-ago rating of 1.69.

Total viewership was 2.193 million, just 82,000 lower than the “A-show” Raw’s least viewed hour (second hour) this week. Last week’s Smackdown viewership of 2.281 million was a virtual tie with this week’s least viewed Raw hour (a difference of 12,000).

Smackdown finished no. 1 overall in the nightly cable rankings in the coveted 18-49 year old demographic with a 0.7 rating, beating “Mayans MC” on FX which started after Smackdown and drew a 0.6 rating. Smackdown was the seventh highest watched show among all viewers on the Top 25 18-49 chart. It’s 2.193 million viewers was well under “Hannity” on Fox News which drew 3.406 million and “The Rachel Maddow Show” on MSNBC which drew 3.023 million. Smackdown was the top rated non-politics/news show in overall viewers.

The 2018 average rating for Smackdown is 1.69, which is below the 2017 average through this week of 1.75.

NOW CHECK OUT THIS REPORT: Raw Ratings: A nearly record-low rating and sharp drop-off for last night’s USA Network flagship program (w/Keller’s Analysis)