According to Nielsen and Showbuzz Daily, the taped Crown Jewel go-home edition of WWE SmackDown drew an average of 2.131 million viewers on FOX on Friday.
This is a 155.21% increase over the previous week’s final viewership of 835,000 for the special FS1 episode. This comparison is meaningless because the previous week’s episode aired on cable, whereas Friday’s show returned to its regular channel, FOX network TV. The final viewership was down 4.48% from the previous episode, which drew 2.231 million viewers on FOX.
These figures are also irrelevant due to the cable-to-network transition, but SmackDown drew a 0.48 rating in the key 18-49 demographic on Friday. This is an increase of 108.69% over the previous week’s rating of 0.23. According to Wrestlenomics, this week’s 0.48 key demo rating represents 626,000 18-49 viewers, an increase of 105.25% from the previous week’s 0.23 key demo rating of 305,000 18-49 viewers. The 0.48 key demo rating for SmackDown is down 7.69% from the 0.52 key demo rating for the previous FOX episode. The 626,000 18-49 viewers are down 7.66% from the previous FOX episode’s 678,000 18-49 viewers.
SmackDown ranked second in network TV ratings for the key 18-49 demographic, down from first for the previous FOX episode and fourteen weeks in a row. SmackDown ranked fourth in the 18-34 demo this week, matching its position from the previous FOX episode. SmackDown ranked third in the 25-54 demo, up from second in the previous FOX episode. SmackDown ranked eighth in network TV viewership for the night, down from seventh for the previous four episodes on FOX. Ricos Tambien Lloran on Univision led the night on network TV in the key demographic of 18-49 with a 0.54 rating and 1.618 million viewers. With 6.093 million viewers and a 0.35 key demo rating, Blue Bloods on CBS topped the night on network TV.
The key demo rating for Friday’s SmackDown on FOX was the lowest since August 26 and the total audience for FOX was the lowest since the show was taped on September 2. Friday’s sports competition included two NBA games on ESPN and two College Football games on ESPN2. Friday’s viewership was down 4.48% from the previous FOX episode prior to last week’s FS1 episode, while the key demo rating was down 7.69% from the previous FOX episode prior to Friday’s FS1 episode.
