On a week where WWE loaded NXT with the promise of surprise appearances from Raw & SmackDown talent, the show outdid AEW’s viewership.
It was a viewership win for NXT but AEW won all the key demos increasing an edge among people 18-49 by a margin of 0.35 to 0.30.
The two shows faced competition with the Democratic candidate’s debate airing from 9-10 pm Eastern and attracting 6.6 million viewers.
NXT’s viewership increased 22% from last with 916,000 viewers on the USA Network. It was NXT’s highest total since AEW launched on October 2nd and began going head-to-head with the program. While it’s a big increase from week’s past it comes with the caveat of a show that drew from the promotion of anyone from the main roster potentially showing up. It’s a crutch that can only be used sparingly and the real question will be if this leads to a sustained bump from NXT.
AEW averaged 893,000 viewers on TNT, which was down 7% but in the key demo, they won the night among people 18-49.
AEW won all the key demos except for adults over 50, with NXT doing a 0.40 in that category and AEW posting a 0.29. It’s a demographic that NXT has won every week since going against Dynamite.
Compared to last week, the largest gains for NXT were among women with 18-49 up 22% and 12-34 increasing by 20%. People 25-54 improved 21% from last week’s figure. They also tapped into the older audience with the over 50 demographic improving 14%.
On the AEW side, they were hit among people 18-34, which dropped 26.5% and males 12-34 fell 25%. The 50+ audience remained unchanged from last week, so this wasn’t a case of older AEW fans turning over to NXT this week.
The larger question is how NXT reacts to this number and if it’s a signal of future involvement of Raw and SmackDown talent to inflate their viewership. It becomes a different show at that point if the Raw and SmackDown talent becoming the stars of the show, which they need to be if they are going to be difference makers.
For AEW, it was a strong show on paper but didn’t have the feel of a lineup that was designed to spike the number while NXT was a hotshot style of show and not a formula that can work every week.
Below are the demographic breakdowns and comparisons to last week’s figures:
PEOPLE 18-49
AEW: 0.39 (-9%)
NXT: 0.30 (+20%)
FEMALES 18-49
AEW: 0.26 (-16%)
NXT: 0.22 (+22%
MALES 18-49
AEW: 0.52 (-5.5%)
NXT: 0.39 (+22%)
PEOPLE 18-34
AEW: 0.25 (-36.5%)
NXT: 0.19 (+19%)
FEMALES 12-34
AEW: 0.15 (-29%)
NXT: 0.12 (+20%)
MALES 12-34
AEW: 0.27 (-25%)
NXT: 0.20 (+17.5%)
PEOPLE 25-54
AEW: 0.42 (-6.5%)
NXT: 0.35 (+21%)
PEOPLE 50+
AEW: 0.29 (Even)
NXT: 0.40 (+14%)
