WWE SmackDown falls below two million viewers against NBA playoffs

Friday night’s SmackDown averaged 1.952 million viewers on Fox, down 8.9 percent from the previous week. It’s the lowest audience for a Fox airing of the show since July 9 of last year, the last week in the WWE ThunderDome.

SmackDown drew a 0.47 rating in the 18-49 demo, down 2.1 percent from the previous week. That also matches the lowest number for a Fox airing of SmackDown going back to July 2021.

SmackDown did lead network TV in the key demo, including beating an NBA playoff game that aired head-to-head on ABC. But ESPN’s NBA playoff coverage topped all of television. The two games that aired on ESPN drew 1.16 and 0.90 ratings in 18-49 respectively.

SmackDown even beat the NBA game that aired on ABC in total viewers, which is a rarity.

In the 18-34 demo, SmackDown was down 21.2 percent from last week, finishing second on network TV behind the NBA game.

As compared to the same week in 2021, SmackDown was down eight percent in total viewers and down 13 percent in 18-49.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of overall viewership and 18-49 demo ratings for SmackDown. This week’s show was down 11.5 percent in viewers and down 16.1 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages in both categories.