Friday Night SmackDown stayed relatively even this week with a second week of NFL pre-emptions to contend with.
The August 18 episode from Toronto averaged 2,094,000 viewers and 723,000 (0.55) in the 18-49 demographic – an increase of 2% in viewership and 1% in the demographic. (Data: Brandon Thurston at Wrestlenomics)
There were several markets where the show was pre-empted due to the NFL pre-season schedule including Atlanta and the Carolinas, according to Wrestlenomics.
In the 18-49 demo, male viewership grew by 4% to 471,000 this week while female viewership declined by the same percentage to 253,000 from last week’s figures.
Adults 18-34 dropped by 6% as a result of female viewership declining by 22% from last week while men increased by 6% in the demo.
Adults 35-49 were up by 4% this week.
In the quarter-hour performance, the high point for viewers was the opening segment for The Grayson Waller Effect with 2,292,000 viewers. In the 18-49 demo, the peak was the final quarter for the ending of Edge vs. Sheamus with 793,000 viewers.
In Canada, SmackDown averaged 248,900 viewers and 98,600 in the 25-54 demographic on Sportsnet 360 and was second among sports programming on Friday behind the CFL game between Winnipeg and Calgary. The numbers were SmackDown’s largest in Canada since April 7 for the episode following WrestleMania 39.
The August 18 edition of AEW Rampage averaged 416,000 viewers and 169,000 (0.13) in the 18-49 demographic on TNT.
Overall viewership for the program grew by 5% this week and was a two-week high for Rampage. In the key demo, they dropped by 15% from last week and were their lowest 18-49 audience since July 28.
There were several significant declines including females 18-49 falling by 25% to 108,000 and adults 18-34 dropping by the same percentage to 42,000 viewers and these were all three-week lows.
Adults 35-49 dropped by 11% to 127,000, although women in this demo were up by 38% and males fell by 25%.
The show was headlined by Hikaru Shida & Skye Blue beating Toni Storm & Ruby Soho and opened with an excellent match between Rey Fenix and Komander, which had a bit of buzz coming out of Wednesday’s taping in Nashville.
