WWE SmackDown viewership down, demo rating up against NCAA tournament

Friday night’s SmackDown averaged 2.147 million viewers on Fox, down 5.3 percent from the previous week. It’s the second-lowest audience for the show so far in 2022.

In the 18-49 demo, SmackDown drew a 0.58 rating, which was up 1.8 percent from the prior week. That ties the show’s third-highest rating of 2022 in that category.

SmackDown was the top program on television in the 18-49 demo that wasn’t related to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Coverage of the tournament aired on four separate stations across network and cable, and the portions that aired against SmackDown drew well over 10 million viewers.

As compared to the same week in 2021, SmackDown was up 2.6 percent in viewers and up 1.8 percent in 18-49. It’s the first time since October that SmackDown has had a year-over-year increase in both categories for Fox airings of the show.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership and 18-49 demo numbers for SmackDown on Fox. This week’s episode was down 2.7 percent in viewers but up 1.8 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.