SmackDown Viewership Down For First 2021 Episode
Despite a huge Christmas episode that saw Friday Night SmackDown soar in ratings, their first episode of the new year couldn’t hold the same amount of viewers.
According to new information from Showbuzz Daily, the latest episode of Friday Night SmackDown saw the show average just 1.95 million viewers, its lowest numbers since the July 31, 2020 episode of the show, and a total that’s down 42.6% from last week’s Christmas episode. Of course, the Christmas Day episode also had SmackDown proceeding an NFL game, which is likely what helped it gain such strong numbers, but the drop off is still a bit disappointing.
While football may have helped SmackDown last week, it hurt the show this week. SmackDown aired right alongside the College Football Playoff semi-finals, which likely took away viewers from every station. In the 18-34 demographic, SmackDown also had a disappointing drop, drawing a 0.3 rating – down 53.8% from last week – while still managing to beat out all other networks in that demographic.
In the 18-49 demographic, SmackDown also drew a 0.3 rating, down 47.4% from last week but also beating out every other network in that demographic. While the show may not have been the best, it’s still a good sign for WWE that they’re beating out other networks in key demographics. With Royal Rumble also on the horizon, it’ll be a huge opportunity for WWE to improve its numbers and build off of a great Christmas entry.