On Friday night, both “WWE SmackDown” and “AEW Rampage” suffered decreases in viewership. WrestleMania season is coming soon and it could be a trend that will continue into Week 2 of both promotions’ respective shows this weekend. Both shows saw an increase in the key demographic, with “WWE SmackDown” receiving a 0.48 P18-49 rating and “AEW Rampage” getting 626000 18-49 viewers on average.
“Rampage,” which aired on Friday night, was seen by 431,000 average viewers. However, the key demographic drop was even steeper as the 18-49 audience was down 9% with 143,000 average viewers for a 0.11 P18-49 rating.
“SmackDown” had a commanding lead in the 18 to 49 demographic, with a 0.48 rating, followed by “20/20” with a 0.38 P18-49 rating. “Rampage” came in at no. 22 overall for cable originals and found itself 35 spots behind “Smackdown” and at no. 36 in broadcast primetime.”
However, “SmackDown” is down in viewership this week. The episode on August 27, 2021, has 2,250,000 viewers; 12% more than this week’s show. Also, the decline in key demographics is even steeper with a 1.0 rating last year; 19% greater than this week.
Rampage’s show is down 40 per cent in total viewership and 68 per cent in the target audience, which is a result of earlier and more daylight hours.