The Nielsen ratings for “WWE SmackDown” have recently revealed a compelling trend: episodes featuring significant developments in The Bloodline storyline, especially those extensively promoted in advance, generate substantial surges in viewership. The June 2 episode, commemorating Roman Reigns’ 1,000 days as champion, set a recent benchmark with an average of 2,563,000 viewers overall. Among them, approximately 955,000 belonged to the coveted 18 to 49 age demographic, highly sought after by advertisers. This resulted in an impressive 0.73 rating in the P18-49 demo, surpassing recent “normal” levels.
With this in mind, it begs the question: How did the July 7 episode, commencing with a lengthy “Tribal Court” segment, fare in the ratings?
According to reports from SpoilerTV.com and information shared by Wrestlenomics on their Twitter and Patreon pages, “SmackDown” maintained its strong performance, averaging 2,561,000 viewers overall across its two-hour broadcast, a two percent increase from the previous week. Notably, the episode attracted approximately 986,000 viewers within the coveted 18 to 49 age group, marking a ten percent surge compared to the prior week. This translated to an impressive 0.76 rating in the P18-49 demo, surpassing the performance of the June 2 episode. However, in terms of total viewership, both episodes effectively drew the same number of viewers.
On Friday night, “SmackDown” reigned supreme as the top show across all of prime time, surpassing competitors by a wide margin. The show more than tripled the key demo audience of CBS’s “Tough As Nails,” which secured a modest 0.23 rating in the P18-49 demo and stood as the sole non-rerun program in its category.
For a comprehensive analysis, the Wrestlenomics Patreon page provides insights into “SmackDown’s” performance across various demographics in relation to the median of the previous four weeks’ data. By this measure, all indicators show positive growth, with the most significant percentage increases observed in the 18 to 34 age group. Women aged 18 to 34 experienced an impressive surge of 56 percent above the median, while men in the same age group enjoyed a 33 percent increase, resulting in an overall 41 percent boost for that demographic compared to the median. Within the 18 to 49 age group, women saw a 27 percent rise, and men witnessed a nine percent increase, resulting in an overall 18 percent surge for that demographic compared to the median.