WWE Raw ratings hit hard by return of Monday Night Football

WWE Raw last night took a hard hit, as expected, from the first NFL Monday Night Football game of the new season.

The episode averaged 1.43 million viewers and drew a 0.45 rating in 18-49. Both numbers are the lowest Raw has done since going against the NFL playoffs in January.

We don’t have the football number or other numbers from last night, but will have a full and complete rundown in the Observer later.

Raw was down 13 percent in viewers and down eight percent in 18-49 from last week. But that was against major college football.

To show how much football affects the Raw ratings, the episode two weeks ago, the last before football, was 1.80 million viewers and a 0.57 demo rating.

The opening game of the season is usually going to have more effect than most games, but blockbuster games could lead to lower numbers. But the 49ers vs. Jets game likely cost Raw 20 percent in viewers and 20 percent in 18-49. This indicates the current WWE audience has more of a crossover with the NFL than the past when it usually was closer to 10 percent.

The number was still better than last year against the season opening NFL Monday game. It was up five percent in viewers and up 14 percent in 18-49 from the same week last year, and that’s not factoring in homes lost. If you factor that in, the gains from a year ago, it would be up 12 percent in viewers and 20 percent in 18-49.  That’s a better indication of where WWE on USA really stands as compared to a year ago.