Friday Night SmackDown’s second week on the USA Network ranked first in prime time on cable while AEW Rampage drew its largest audience in months.
The September 20 edition of SmackDown from Sacramento averaged 1,494,000 viewers and 603,000 (0.45) in the 18-49 demographic (Data: Wrestlenomics & Programming Insider)
The show ranked first among cable programming in prime-time and topped the Syracuse vs. Stanford college football game on ESPN (0.32).
Both SmackDown and Rampage aired against Fox’s coverage of Illinois vs. Nebraska, which averaged 4,213,000 viewers and a 1.05 in the core demo and topped everything on television on Friday.
SmackDown dropped by 13% in viewership and 18% in the 18-49 audience from the previous week’s season premiere on USA.
In Canada, SmackDown averaged 266,700 viewers and 88,500 in the 25-54 demographic on Sportsnet 360, which was a drop from last week’s massive audience of 334,700 viewers. SmackDown ranked #4 among sports on Friday behind the Toronto Blue Jays vs. Tampa Bay Rays, and two CFL games and ranked #3 in the demo beating one CFL game.
AEW Rampage averaged 327,000 viewers and 161,000 (0.12) in the 18-49 demographic on TNT, which represented increases of 31% and 64% respectively from the previous week, per Wrestlenomics.
It was Rampage’s largest audience since July 12 and its best 18-49 number since March 8.
Rampage ranked sixth among cable programming in prime-time this past Friday behind SmackDown, College Football, and three programs on Fox News,
It included a main event four-way match with Nick Wayne, Lio Rush, Rocky Romero, and Kip Sabian.
