WWE Raw took a hit after last week’s huge viewership while airing against Monday Night Football and the NBA In-Season Tournament.
The December 4 episode of Raw from Albany averaged 1,533,000 viewers and 640,000 (0.49) in the 18-49 demographic – declines of 19% and 26% respectively from last week. (Data: Wrestlenomics)
This week’s show did not feature either CM Punk or Randy Orton, who were the key attractions on last week’s episode that followed the Survivor Series and featured a commercial-free hour from 8-9 p.m. ET last week.
The Monday Night Football game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Jacksonville Jaguars averaged 16,445,000 viewers across ABC, ESPN & ESPN while the Boston Celtics vs. Indiana Pacers averaged 1,063,000 on TNT, and the New Orleans Pelicans vs. Sacramento Kings drew 741,000 on truTB. (Data: Sports TV Ratings)
In the 18-49 demographic, males saw a 33% drop to 437,000 viewers while females were not hit nearly as hard with a modest 5% decline to 203,000.
Adults 18-34 fell by 21% to 272,000 with males responsible for the overall decrease while females in the younger demo grew by 8% from last week, which is an impressive stat given how loaded last week’s show was.
Adults 35-49 dropped by 29% to 368,000 viewers.
In Canada, Raw averaged 233,400 viewers and 90,900 in the 25-54 demographic on Sportsnet 360 and ranked fourth among sports programs on Monday behind two NHL games and Monday Night Football. Last week’s episode of Raw was the show’s largest in the country since the night after WrestleMania 39, so this week experienced a 33% drop in viewers and 35% in the demo.
Raw advertised the entire set of matches in advance including a rare World Heavyweight Championship match with Seth Rollins vs. Jey Uso occupying the final half hour of the program.
CM Punk is advertised for next Monday’s episode, which will air against two Monday Night Football games.
