Despite the added NBA competition, there was no impact on AEW and NXT numbers with both experiencing increases and AEW having one of its best weeks of 2020.
AEW Dynamite had a huge week with 901,000 viewers and a 0.36 rating in the 18-49 demographic allowing them to finish fifth for the night on cable. The back-to-back NBA games on ESPN were #1 and #2 for the evening followed by Tucker Carlson Tonight and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
In viewership, AEW was up 16.5%, and in the 18-49 demo, they grew by 20%.
AEW’s viewership average was its highest since March 18th, which was the first empty arena show after the shutdown and their sixth-highest number of the year. In the 18-49 demo, it was their best performance since February 5th, which did the same rating. This week’s demo number is tied for AEW’s second-best performance of the year with the episodes airing on January 1st, January 8th, and Feb. 5th.
Among the key demographics, AEW increased in double digits across the board led by males 12-34 increasing by 75% this week from a 0.16 to a 0.28 rating.
With adults 18-34, they improved by 52.6% this week. The 0.29 rating in that demo beat out the first hour of Raw this past Monday, which did a 0.25 and equaled the second hour of Raw. AEW’s 0.21 rating with females 12-34 also topped the first hour of Raw that averaged a 0.20 rating.
AEW’s 0.45 with males 18-49 was its highest rating in that demo since March 25th.
For NXT, they did see increases in all their demos as well as overall viewership, which averaged 753,000 and was up 6.5% this week. It was their best numbers in those categories since the second Great American Bash show on July 8th that was headlined by the Double Tite Match between Adam Cole and Keith Lee.
In the 18-49 demo, NXT finished 27th for the night on cable with a 0.20 rating that was up 11% this week.
NXT’s largest audience gain was with males 12-34 that improved by 40%, which was also the demo AEW saw the greatest increase with. The same demo improved by 26% this week on Raw, so it was a strong demo with pro wrestling across the board.
NXT also experienced an increase of 22% with adults 18-34.
It was a rare week where no key demo decreased on either program.
With AEW producing one of its best numbers of the year, you would have to attribute a lot to Jon Moxley defending the AEW title, which was a big hit at Fight for the Fallen last month, and the much-hyped debate between Chris Jericho and Orange Cassidy, which was a tremendous segment.
Here is a breakdown of the key demographics and a week-to-week comparison:
ADULTS 18-49
AEW: 0.36 (+20%)
NXT: 0.20 (+11%)
FEMALES 18-49
AEW: 0.26 (+18%)
NXT: 0.15 (+7%)
MALES 18-49
AEW: 0.45 (+15%)
NXT: 0.25 (+14%)
ADULTS 18-34
AEW: 0.29 (+52.5%)
NXT: 0.11 (+22%)
MALES 12-34
AEW: 0.28 (+75%)
NXT: 0.14 (+40%)
ADULTS 25-54
AEW: 0.39 (+15%)
NXT: 0.24 (+9%)
ADULTS 50+
AEW: 0.33 (+22%)
NXT: 0.39 (+5%)
