WWE Raw took a hit airing against the NBA Finals but despite the loss in viewers, the show finished #1 on cable Monday night.
The June 13th edition of the show from Wichita averaged 1,695,000 viewers and approximately 564,000 (0.43) in the 18-49 demographic, per Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics and Showbuzz Daily.
WWE Raw last night on USA Network (8-11pm):
1,695,000 viewers
P18-49 rating: 0.43
📊 https://t.co/1SscdBCpr8 pic.twitter.com/TEyfMoYMQ3— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) June 14, 2022
The show dropped 9.5 percent in overall viewers and declined 17 percent in 18-49. Males in the key dropped 16 percent while females fell by 20 percent from last week.
The final two hours of Raw aired against Game 5 of the NBA Finals between Golden State and Boston which averaged 13,025,000 viewers and a 3.99 rating in 18-49 on ABC. Raw was also coming off a strong number last week for the post-Hell in a Cell episode and accentuated this week’s decline.
Raw still managed to finish first among original cable programming on Monday.
Raw began with 1,812,000 viewers and 0,47 in 18-49, which opened with an edition of MizTV featuring Paul Heyman. The show fell to 1,740,000 and 0.44 in the second hour, and the third hour averaged 1,534,000 and 0.38 in the demo.
From hour one to hour three, there was a larger decline than usual with viewership dropping 15 percent, 18-49 dropping by 19 percent, 18-34 fell by 23 percent, and females 18-49 experienced a 32 percent drop throughout the show – likely attributable to the NBA game as it got later into the night.
The most stable audience was adults 50+, which only dropped three percent from last week.
In Canada, Raw declined by 10 percent with approximately 146,000 viewers on Sportsnet 360.
Monday’s episode included a pose down between Theory and Bobby Lashley, two Money in the Bank qualifying matches, and a match involving Riddle and Ciampa as the key segments.
Raw and SmackDown will air against any more NBA games for the season, although Raw goes against Game 3 of the Colorado Avalanche vs. Tampa Bay Lightning next week. SmackDown will air against the Stanley Cup Finals if the series goes to a fifth game.
