WWE Raw fell to its second-lowest audience of the year as the show aired against an NFL pre-season game.
The August 21 episode of Raw from Quebec City averaged 1,591,000 viewers and 713,000 (0.50) in the 18-49 demographic, per Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics.
The show fell by 9% in viewership and 8% in the key demo and led to Raw’s lowest audience since January 16, which aired against the NFL Wild Card game.
This week’s competition included the Washington Commanders vs. Baltimore Ravens that aired on ESPN.
In the 18-49 demo, females declined by 9% to 195,000 and males fell 8% to 459,000 from last week’s numbers.
Adults 18-34 experienced a 15% loss from last week with males dropping by 19% this week.
Adults 35-49 stayed relatively similar with a 3% drop, although women were down 10% in that category.
Raw opened with 1,645,000 viewers in the first hour and stayed consistent with 1,665,000 in the second hour before dropping to 1,464,000 in the third hour with a main event of Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs. Finn Balor & Damian Priest and later, changed to a six-man tag with the additions of Cody Rhodes and Dominik Mysterio.
According to Wrestlenomics, the peak segment for viewers and the 18-49 audience was from 9 – 9:15 p.m. ET with the ending of Gunther vs. Chad Gable followed by backstage segments with Imperium, Judgment Day, and Cody Rhodes that did 1,805,000 viewers and 727,000 in 18-49. That quarter rose 9% in both viewers and the demo from the previous one.
In Canada, Raw averaged 299,200 viewers and 137,700 in the 25-54 demographic on Sportsnet 360 and was the #1 sports program for the night in the country. The viewership was down 5% from last week but the demo increased by 25%.
