On an episode branded as “WrestleMania Raw,” the show hit its best figures in seven months going into its biggest week of the year.
The March 28th edition of Raw from Pittsburgh averaged 1,979,000 viewers and approximately 721,000 (0.55) in the 18-49 demographic, per Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics and Showbuzz Daily.
WWE Raw last night on USA Network:
1,979,000 viewers
P18-49: 0.55 (721,000)Highest in both measurements since August 23 (post-Summerslam).
📊 More demos & analysis: https://t.co/1SscdBCpr8 pic.twitter.com/2lVGwuwhKc
— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) March 29, 2022
The show topped all of cable for Monday night and was the show’s highest overall viewership and 18-49 audience since August 23rd following SummerSlam last year.
The show was strategically marketed as “WrestleMania Raw” with advertised appearances by Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns for the final Raw before this weekend’s events at AT&T Stadium in Texas. The only sports competition came from the NCAA women’s basketball tournament with back-to-back games airing against Raw on ESPN that finished fourth and fifth among cable originals at 0.41 and 0.36 in the demo respectively.
Overall viewership grew by 12 percent this week while the 18-49 audience increased by 10 percent. Raw experienced a major jump among women in the 18-49 demo that grew 34 percent from last week along with a 30 percent uptick among women 18-34.
Overall viewership was assisted by the 50+ demo growing from 0.87 last week to 0.97, although had a 14 percent drop off throughout the episode.
The first hour started strong with 2,052,000 viewers and 0.56 in the 18-49 demographic with its strongest opening hour since January 31st following the Royal Rumble.
In the second hour, the show grew to 2,100,000 viewers and the demo moved up to 0.58 – making it the most-watched hour of Raw this year.
The third decline saw viewership drop to 1,786,000 viewers and 0.52 in the demo. Despite the drop, it was still the most-watched third hour of Raw since August 30th last year.
From hour one to hour three, overall viewership declined by 13 percent while the 18-49 audience dropped by seven percent.
In Canada, the show continues to ride a strong wave of momentum with an average of 276,600 viewers and 124,600 in the 25-54 demo on Sportsnet 360. Viewership only dropped by one percent from the previous week while the 25-54 audience increased by four percent.
Raw has averaged 266,000 viewers in Canada throughout March and represents an increase of 40 percent increase over its February average of 190,000.
