WWE SmackDown ratings down against Winter Olympics, finishes second on TV

Friday night’s Royal Rumble fallout edition of SmackDown averaged 2.151 million viewers on Fox, down three percent from the previous week. It’s the lowest audience the show has drawn since Christmas Eve and the lowest number for a live show since December 10.

In the 18-49 demo, SmackDown drew a 0.51 rating, down 8.9 percent from the January 28 episode. That’s also the show’s lowest rating on Fox since Christmas Eve and the lowest since December 10 for a live episode.

SmackDown finished second on television in the key demo but was far behind the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics, which averaged nearly 10.8 million viewers and drew a 1.97 rating in 18-49 on NBC alone. Another 1.4 million people watched the USA Network’s Olympic coverage, and both broadcasts aired head-to-head with SmackDown.

As compared to the same week in 2021, SmackDown was down 4.7 percent in overall viewers and down 21.5 percent in 18-49.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of overall viewership and 18-49 demo numbers for Fox airings of SmackDown. This week’s show was down 0.3 percent in overall viewers and down 5.6 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.