Last week’s WWE Smackdown kicked off the WWE Draft, but its ratings took a hit against the second night of the NFL Draft. Friday’s episode garnered a 0.58 rating in the 18 – 49 demographic and 2.143 million viewers per Wrestlenomics. Those numbers were down 7.9% and 8.1% respectively from the previous week’s 0.63 demo rating and audience of 2.333 million.
The episode hit the lowest points for a regular episode of the show since the December 22nd, 2023 episode had a 0.55 demo rating and 2.108 million viewers. The December 29th, 2023 episode was lower with a 0.28 demo rating and 1.355 million viewers, though that was for a Best Of 2023 clip shot. Smackdown was up against night two of the NFL Draft, which aired on both ABC and ESPN. While the ESPN numbers aren’t yet in, the ABC simulcast drew a 0.61 demo rating and 2.69 million viewers. The first night of the NFL Draft saw the majority of its viewership on ESPN.
Smackdown is averaging a 0.674 demo rating and 2.397 million viewers in 2024 to date, compared to a 0.606 demo rating and 2.354 million for the same point in 2023.
