This past Friday featured the final two-hour edition of SmackDown and the last episode of AEW Rampage.
SmackDown on the USA Network attracted an audience of 1,436,000 viewers, including 550,000 viewers (0.41) in the 18-49 demographic. This ranked second among cable originals in prime time for the night.
The show ranked behind the Liberty Bowl between Texas Tech and Arkansas on ESPN, which generated 4,206,000 viewers and 0.95 in the demo. SmackDown also aired against the DirecTV Holiday Bowl on Fox, which drew 2,931,000 viewers and 0.55 in the demo.
SmackDown’s audience grew by 8% while the core demo increased by 11% over the previous week’s taped show.
It was also the final airing of SmackDown on Sportsnet 360 in Canada, which drew 192,800 viewers and 87,200 in the 25-54 demographic. This Friday’s episode will be streaming on YouTube in the country, with the first Netflix edition commencing January 10.
Throughout December, SmackDown averaged 1,447,000 viewers and 0.42 in the 18-49 demo. Canada averaged 236,000 viewers and 93,300 in the 25-54 demo this past month.
Rampage wrapped up its run this past week on TNT with an audience of 273,000 viewers and 107,000 (0.08) in the 18-49 demographic representing a 20% increase in both areas.
In the core demo, Rampage posted its largest audience since November 22.
Programming Insider noted that Rampage ranked sixth among cable programs in prime time behind the Liberty Bowl, SmackDown, Gold Rush on Discovery, Jesse Watters Primetime on Fox News, and My Lottery Dream Home on HGTV.
Throughout December, Rampage averaged 239,000 viewers and 0.07 in 18-49.
Data courtesy: Programming Insider and Wrestlenomics
