Friday Night SmackDown returned to Fox this past week and finished first among network programming following the Crown Jewel event the day prior.
The October 22nd taped edition of SmackDown averaged 2,249,000 viewers and 759,000 (0.58) in the 18-49 demographic, per Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics and Showbuzz Daily.
Moving back to its regular network slot, SmackDown was up slightly from the October 8th show that aired on Fox with an increase of 5 percent in viewers and 12 percent in 18-49.
SmackDown was the top show among network programs, but the night was dominated by the MLB playoffs where the Houston Astros knocked off the Boston Red Sox to advance to the World Series that begins on Tuesday. The ALCS game averaged 5,812,000 viewers and 1.29 on FS1 followed by two NBA games on ESPN that did 0.83 and 0.60 respectively in 18-49.
Friday’s live episode from Wichita, Kansas was highlighted by a big angle involving Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar that led to Lesnar’s indefinite storyline suspension and took up the first 35-minutes of the program. It also featured a “Championship Exchange” between Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair in the main event slot.
In Canada, SmackDown averaged 133,600 viewers and 38,700 in the 25-54 demographic on Sportsnet 360. The numbers were down from the previous week’s figures of 166,400 and 62,900 for the 2 ½ hour episode including the commercial-free block over the final thirty minutes.
This week’s episode of SmackDown will be airing on FS1 due to Fox’s coverage of the World Series that night.
