The season premiere of WWE Raw led to the show’s strongest performance since the start of the NFL season.
The October 10th edition from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn averaged 1,824,000 viewers and approximately 722,000 (0.55) in the 18-49 demographic, courtesy of Brandon Thurston from Wrestlenomics and Showbuzz Daily.
Overall viewership was up by 14% and the 18-49 demo audience saw a massive 38% increase from last week with both figures the highest for Raw since September 5th.
There were large increases across the board in 18-34 up by 50% this week, and adults 35-49 up by 32% (both audiences were the highest numbers since September 5th). The only audience that didn’t grow significantly was adults 50+, which was only up by 5%.
ESPN dominated the night with the Monday Night Football game between Kansas City and Las Vegas averaging 15.8 million viewers and 4.65 in 18-49 and didn’t feature a simulcast on ABC or ESPN 2, so the audience was all concentrated to ESPN.
Raw ranked fifth among cable originals behind ESPN.
The first hour averaged 1,876,000 and 0.56 in 18-49 and grew in the second hour to 1,894,000 and 0.57 and the third-hour drop was minimal at 1,703,000 and 0.53. The final hour included the DX reunion to close the show and the main event between Matt Riddle and Sami Zayn.
From hour one to hour three, overall viewership dropped by 9% and the 18-49 audience fell by 5%. The same figures dropped 17% and 19% respectively last week throughout the episode.
Due to Thanksgiving in Canada, the numbers are delayed.
The Battle of the Belts IV special that aired on TSN 2 this past Friday night at 11 p.m. ET averaged 22,000 viewers and 17,000 in the 25-54 demographic. It did not finish among the top ten sports programs on Friday.
