Friday Night SmackDown experienced a minimal drop while airing against the NBA & NHL playoffs this past week.
The May 19th edition of SmackDown from Columbia, South Carolina averaged 2,133,000 viewers and 691,000 (0.53) in the 18-49 demographic, which was first among network programs on Friday. (Showbuzz Daily and Wrestlenomics)
In overall viewership, SmackDown had a small one percent decline while the key demo audience fell by six percent this week.
They were against stronger competition this week as the conference final game between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics averaged 6.1 million viewers and a 2.05 rating in the 18-49 demo with viewership for the game 13 percent higher this week. They also aired against the Dallas Stars vs. Las Vegas Golden Knights game (1.7 million viewers and 0.33), which was 26 percent higher this week in overall viewership.
SmackDown did an identical audience among adults 18-34 as the week prior while experiencing an eight percent drop with adults 35-49.
The show included a main event with Rey Mysterio & Santos Escobar beating The Usos and Roman Reigns appearing on the show for the second week in a row.
This Friday’s episode is a taped show from Columbia with a double taping taking place last week at the Colonial Life Arena with the crew off to Saudi Arabia for Night of Champions.
Canadian numbers are not available yet due to the Victoria Day holiday on Monday.
