WWE SmackDown ratings up, finishes first on TV in 18-49 demo

Friday’s episode of WWE SmackDown averaged 2.261 million viewers on Fox, up seven percent from the previous week. It’s the second-highest viewership total for the show so far in 2022.

The episode was headlined by Ronda Rousey’s SmackDown in-ring debut. She defeated Sonya Deville on the show.

SmackDown topped all of television with a 0.59 rating in the 18-49 demo, up 3.5 percent from the previous week’s show. It’s the second-highest rating in the demo for any WWE programming since October 1 of last year.

The show also topped all network programming with a 0.37 rating in the 18-34 demo but was second on television, trailing an NBA game on ESPN.

As compared to the same week in 2021, SmackDown was up 0.4 percent in total viewers but down 1.7 percent in 18-49. The show was even in 18-34 year-over-year.

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 up 3.5 percent in viewership and up 7.3 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.