WWE SmackDown Numbers Drop for Backlash Go-Home Episode

– SpoilerTV has the preliminary overnight numbers for last night’s edition of WWE SmackDown. Last night’s show was the go-home episode before tonight’s WWE Backlash 2023 premium live event.

Last night’s show averaged 1.976 million viewers. That’s based on 1.935 million viewers for Hour 1 and 2.016 million viewers for Hour 2. Viewership fell compared to the overnight numbers for last week’s show, which drew 2.298 million viewers. That was for the WWE Draft Night 1 episode. For comparison, the final audience for last week’s show was 2.473 million viewers.

WWE SmackDown also took a hit in the P18-49 key ratings demo. SmackDown averaged a 0.47 rating. That fell from the 0.61 overnight average for last week. The final rating for last week’s WWE Draft show was a 0.67 rating in the key demo.

Despite the drop in numbers, likely due to the NBA Playoffs airing on ESPN, SmackDown still managed to top the ratings in primetime broadcast programming for Friday. Blue Bloods on CBS led the night for viewership with 5.383 million viewers.