WWE Raw Rating Hits Four-Week High, Viewership Spikes

– The return of the McMahons to WWE television (and the effects of TLC) helped Raw jump to its best rating in a month. Monday’s episode brought in a 0.86 rating in the 18 – 49 demographic and 2.547 million viewers, up 14% and 16% respectively from last week’s 0.76 demo rating and 2.194 million viewers. The rating hit the best point since the November 19th episode had a 0.87, while the audience was the highest since 2.548 million tuned in on October 22nd.

The episode was heavily hyped for the return of Vince McMahon, but of course that’s not the only factor that came into play. Raw came on the back of the well-received TLC PPV, for one thing. Post-PPV ratings are almost always improved from the previous week, more so when the PPV garners good buzz. In addition, many network shows are on hiatus right now; only CBS and NBC had its regularly scheduled programming in original episodes. So while many might look to the McMahons, the more reliable reasons for fans to tune back in probably had more sway.

Raw ranked #4 among cable originals for the night per Showbuzz Daily. The top three spots were dominated by Monday Night Football as usual, with the game at #1 (3.95 rating, 13.006 million viewers), the post-game Sportscenter at #2 (1.42/3.673 million) and the kickoff show at #3 (1.27/4.535 million). Raw’s hourly numbers were:

8 PM: 0.93 demo rating (2.717 million viewers)
9 PM: 0.87 demo rating (2.558 million viewers)
10 PM: 0.78 demo rating (2.367 million viewers)