WWE SmackDown falls below two million viewers, demo rating up

Friday night’s episode of WWE SmackDown averaged 1.99 million viewers on Fox, down 4.5 percent from the previous week. It’s just the second time since June 15 that SmackDown has dropped below two million viewers.

This was the final week where SmackDown faced pre-emptions in some markets due to NFL preseason football.

SmackDown placed sixth among broadcast network programs in terms of total viewers on the night but topped all of television with a 0.48 rating in the 18-49 demo. The rating was up 2.1 percent from the previous week, so despite the overall number dropping, SmackDown skewed younger this week.

SmackDown also topped all English-language television with a 0.29 rating in the 18-34 demo but trailed three Spanish-language shows in that category.

As compared to the same week in 2021, SmackDown was down 11.6 percent in overall viewers and down 18.6 percent in 18-49. It’s the fourth straight week the show has declined year-over-year in both categories.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of overall viewership and 18-49 demo ratings for SmackDown, as well as the 10-week averages in both categories. This week’s show was down 7.5 percent in viewers and down 5.9 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.