WWE Smackdown Rating, Viewership Tick Down Against Winter Olympics

The rating for last week’s episode of WWE Smackdown took a hit from the Olympics, with viewership also slipping. Last Friday’s show drew a 0.51 rating in the 18 – 49 demographic and 2.151 million viewers per Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics. Those numbers are down 8.9% and 3% from the previous week’s 0.56 demo rating and 2.217 million viewers. The demo rating was the lowest for a regular episode since the Christmas Eve episode drew a 0.48, while the audience was the worst since the Christmas Eve viewership of 1.972 million. (The New Year’s Eve episode drew a 0.08 and 378,000, but that was a Best of 2021 episode that aired on FOX Sports 1).

The Winter Olympics dominated viewing for Friday night with a 1.97 demo rating on NBC for the opening ceremony and 10.758 million viewers. Smackdown ranked #2 for the night in the ratings.

Smackdown is averaging a 0.57 demo rating and 2.214 million viewers for 2022 to date, down from a 0.602 demo rating and 2.216 million viewers for the same time period in 2021.