Going against a gigantic NFL playoff game, WWE Raw held up better than expected within the key demographic.
The January 16th edition of the show from Cincinnati averaged 1,482,000 viewers and approximately 548,000 (0.42) in the 18-49 demographic for a seventh-place finish among cable originals on Monday. (Data: Wrestlenomics and Showbuzz Daily).
The show faced enormous competition from the NFL with the wild card game between the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers that aired on ABC, ESPN & ESPN 2. Across the three networks, it averaged 31.1 million viewers and an 8.39 rating in the 18-49 demo.
Raw’s viewership declined by 12 percent with the 18-49 demo dropping by 16 percent from the previous. The demo included a 20 percent drop among females and a 14 percent reduction in the male audience in the category.
While Raw’s audience was low, it still beat the December 12th episode last month. In the key demo, Raw was down from the week prior but beat six of the previous seven episodes in the 18-49 demo.
Raw also declined 12 percent among adults 18-34 and down 18 percent among adults 35-49.
The show opened with 1,557,000 viewers and 0.44 in the 18-49 demo. The second hour was consistent with 1,544,000 viewers and unchanged in the key demo. The third hour fell to 1,365,000 viewers and 0.37 in the demo.
From hour one to hour three, the show dropped 12 percent in viewers and 16 percent in the demo. Males 12-34 actually grew 18 percent throughout the show while the other key demos fell double digits throughout the three-hour broadcast.
In Canada, Raw averaged 214,200 viewers and 101,500 in the 25-54 demo on Sportsnet 360, which were down 11 and 10 percent respectively from the prior week. The show ranked third among sports programming that night behind the Cowboys vs. Buccaneers and a Toronto Raptors game.
There was very little advertised in advance of Raw with the show headlined by a six-pack challenge to determine the U.S. title challenger for Austin Theory next week on Raw XXX in Philadelphia.
