WWE SmackDown ratings hit another record low
By Paul Fontaine | @PaulAceFontaine | May 15, 2019 2:59 pm
Coming into this week, it was expected that Raw's ratings might be up slightly due to the NBA having Monday night off -- and that SmackDown would be hurt going against game one of the Western Conference finals and the NBA Draft Lottery special.
This all held true as, after a night in which Raw was slightly up from the last couple of weeks, SmackDown had its lowest audience total since the 2016 brand split, coming in slightly less than the previous low-water mark from two weeks ago.
SmackDown averaged 1.827 million viewers for Tuesday night's taped episode from London. The show dropped all the way to 13th overall in terms of total viewers on cable and, perhaps more importantly to the network, down to sixth in the 18-49 demo with a 0.56 rating.
In the demo, it trailed the NBA game, which did 7.315 million viewers and a 2.79 rating, as well as the lottery show (4.427 million; 1.68), ESPN SportsCenter, which followed the game (2.517 million; 1.05), the pre-show for the game (2.04 million; 0.75), and game three of the NHL Eastern Conference finals (1.904 million; 0.64).
Since Raw faced lesser competition, SmackDown retained a much lower than usual 77 percent of the Monday night audience. Year-over-year, SmackDown was down 20.5 percent, which is right about where it is most weeks.
Miz and Mrs., which follows SmackDown on the USA Network, was actually up this week, matching its season high with 1.009 million viewers. That's up 17 percent from last week's series low.
Here's a look at the last 10 weeks of SmackDown viewership and how it compared to Raw's from the same week:
WWE SmackDown reaches lowest ratings of 2017 against NBA playoffs
WWE SmackDown ratings virtually unchanged for taped show
WWE SmackDown posts lowest ratings of 2018
WWE SmackDown ratings get a post-PPV bump
WWE SmackDown ratings down from last week's Superstar Shakeup