On the eve of the 4th of July, WWE Raw held up well despite a lower 18-49 audience than its usual range.
The July 3 episode from Baltimore averaged 1,828,000 viewers and 634,000 (0.49) in the 18-49 demographic, per Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics.
The 4th of July week episodes have proven to be one of the toughest weeks of the year for Raw. Last year’s show aired on July 5 with 1,472,000 viewers and 0.41 in the demo.
It was only a two-week low in terms of overall viewership, although the 18-49 audience was among the lowest of the year and the least since June 12 when Raw aired against the NBA Finals.
Adults 18-34 did have a big loss of 26% including 34% among males in the demo.
Adults 35-49 declined by 16% from last week.
This year’s show fell 7% in viewership and 20% in the 18-49 demographic from last week. In the key demo, males dropped by 21% and females declined by 18%.
Viewership was consistent with 1,854,000 viewers in the first four, a small drop to 1,848,000 in the second hour, and settling at 1,787,000 in the third hour. The final hour of the show was actually tremendous as it was the second largest 10-11 p.m. ET hour of Raw since the night after WrestleMania behind last week’s third hour which averaged 1,803,000.
According to Wrestlenomics, the star segment of the show was the ending of Rhea Ripley vs. Natalya from 10-10:15 p.m. ET which averaged 1,950,000 and 675,000 in the demo, which were the high points of both categories for the episode.
In Canada, the show was second for the night among sports programming with 225,700 viewers and 98,600 in the 25-54 demographic on Sportsnet 360. It finished behind the CFL game between the Toronto Argonauts and B.C. Lions. It was Raw’s lowest audience in Canada since June 5.
Next week’s episode will air against ESPN’s coverage of the Home Run Derby with last year’s Home Run Derby attracting six million viewers and a 1.72 rating in the demo.
