Off the strength of CM Punk, the Tribute to the Troops episode drew the highest viewership for Friday Night SmackDown in nearly two months.
The December 8 Tribute to the Troops averaged 2,384,000 viewers and 829,000 in the 18-49 demographic – increases of 17% and 6% respectively from the previous week on Fox. (Data: Wrestlenomics)
It was SmackDown’s largest viewership since its season premiere on October 13 and its best performance among the 18-49 demographic since October 6.
The show was advertised around CM Punk’s first appearance on SmackDown since returning to the company at Survivor Series.
In the 18-49 demo, female viewership grew by 8% to 303,000 and males were up by 5% to 526,000.
Adults 18-34 experienced a small growth of 4% to 315,000 – the demo’s largest average since September 15.
Adults 35-49 grew by 8% to 514,000 from the previous week.
In Canada, SmackDown averaged 185,400 viewers and 71,800 in the 25-54 demographic on Sportsnet 360. The show ranked fourth for the night among sports behind the Minnesota Wild vs. Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Raptors vs. Charlotte Hornets, and Sportsnet Central.
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AEW Rampage was highlighted by the first Continental Classic match to air on the program and saw an increase in the key demo audience.
The December 8 show that was taped in Montreal averaged 341,000 viewers and 155,000 (0.12) in the 18-49 demographic. The viewership dropped by 2% while the key demo audience saw an increase of 13%. (Data: Wrestlenomics)
It was Rampage’s highest 18-49 audience since November 10.
This week’s episode featured Bryan Danielson taking on Daniel Garcia in the Continental Classic and one of the larger marquee matches to air on Rampage in recent history.
In the 18-49 demo, female viewers grew by 18% to 59,000 and males were up by 9% to 96,000.
Adults 18-34 did not see growth as it fell from 45,000 to 43,000 this week.
Adults 35-49 jumped by 20% to 112,000.
Due to the show taking place in Canada, it aired on TSN 2 this past Friday and averaged approximately 28,000 viewers and 4,000 in the 25-54 demographic but didn’t rank among the top ten sports programs that night.
