Friday’s live edition of WWE SmackDown drew an average of 2.629 million viewers on FOX, according to Nielsen, via Showbuzz Daily.
This final number is up 10.65% from the previous week’s final viewership of 2.376 million viewers for the taped episode.
Friday’s SmackDown drew a 0.64 rating in the key 18-49 demographic. This is up 16.36% from the previous week’s 0.55 rating. This past week’s 0.64 key demo rating represents 835,000 18-49 viewers, which is up 16.46% from the 717,000 18-49 viewers that the previous week’s 0.55 key demo rating drew, according to Wrestlenomics.
SmackDown ranked #1 in ratings for the key 18-49 demographic on network TV, even with the previous week’s #1 ranking, and the two weeks before that. SmackDown ranked #1 in the 18-34 demo this week, up from the previous week’s #1 ranking and the one week before that. SmackDown ranked #1 in the 25-54 demo, even with the previous week’s #1 ranking and the two weeks before that. SmackDown came in at #5 for the night in viewership on network TV, down from the previous week’s #4 ranking. While WWE SmackDown topped the day on network TV in the key demographic, S.W.A.T. on CBS topped the day on network TV in viewership with an average of 2.849 million viewers, also drawing a 0.24 key demo rating.
Friday’s SmackDown drew the highest total audience in two years. This was the highest total audience since December 25, 2020 and the highest key demo rating since January 21, 2022. The Christmas 2020 episode had an NFL as lead-in, which boosted viewership. Excepting that case, this is the highest total viewership for SmackDown since February 28, 2020, which came just before touring was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional cable sports competition on Friday included two College Football Bowl games on ESPN and the related programming, two Copa por Mexico Soccer games on TUDN, one Premier League Soccer game on USA Network, one La Riga Soccer game on ESPN Deportes, two NBA games on NBA-TV, one College Basketball game on ESPN2, one College Basketball game on Big Ten Network, and one College Hockey game on ESPN2. Friday’s SmackDown viewership was up 10.65% from the last FOX episode, and the key demo rating was up 16.36% from the last FOX episode.
Viewership for Friday’s SmackDown episode was up 595.5% from the same week in 2021, while Friday’s 18-49 key demo rating was up 700% from the same week in 2021. It should be noted that the 2021 episode was a Best Of episode that also aired on FS1 via cable, and not the regular broadcast TV airing. To compare to the final FOX episode of 2021, Friday’s SmackDown viewership was up 33.32% while the key demo rating was up 33.33%.
The SmackDown averages for 2022 are also in. SmackDown averaged 2.173 viewers per episode over 50 FOX episodes this year, not including the two FS1 airings. This is up 2.16% from the 2021 viewership average of 2.127 viewers per episode over 50 FOX episodes. SmackDown averaged a 0.53 18-49 key demo rating per episode over 50 FOX episodes in 2022. This is down 5.35% from the 2021 key demo rating of 0.56 per episode over 50 FOX episodes.
The College Football Orange Bowl game between Tennessee and Clemson on ESPN topped the day on the Cable Top 150 with a 2.00 key demo rating. The game also topped the night on cable in viewership with 8.590 million viewers. The Orange Bowl 11-minute Pre-show drew 7.138 million viewers for a 1.59 key demo rating to secure the #2 spot on the Cable Top 150, while the Orange Bowl 12-minute Post-show drew 6.166 million viewers for the #3 spot on the Cable Top 150.
Friday’s SmackDown aired live from the Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL, with the following line-up advertised ahead of time – Solo Sikoa vs. Sheamus, SmackDown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey defending against Raquel Rodriguez, plus John Cena’s return to team with Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn and Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, which was the main event.
Below is our 2022 SmackDown Viewership Tracker, along with the Top 10 moments from Friday’s show and totals for the year:
January 7 Episode: 2.271 million viewers with a 0.58 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Post-Day 1 episode)
January 14 Episode: 2.174 million viewers with a 0.56 rating in the 18-49 demographic
January 21 Episode: 2.255 million viewers with a 0.64 rating in the 18-49 demographic
January 28 Episode: 2.217 million viewers with a 0.56 rating in the 18-49 demographic
February 4 Episode: 2.151 million viewers with a 0.51 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Post-Royal Rumble episode)
February 11 Episode: 2.231 million viewers with a 0.55 rating in the 18-49 demographic
February 18 Episode: 2.173 million viewers with a 0.54 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Taped episode)
February 25 Episode: 2.114 million viewers with a 0.57 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Post-Elimination Chamber episode)
March 4 Episode:
March 11 Episode: 2.226 million viewers with a 0.57 rating in the 18-49 demographic
March 18 Episode: 2.147 million viewers with a 0.58 rating in the 18-49 demographic
March 25 Episode: 2.180 million viewers with a 0.49 rating in the 18-49 demographic
April 1 Episode: 2.359 million viewers with a 0.61 rating in the 18-49 demographic (WrestleMania SmackDown episode)
April 8 Episode: 2.230 million viewers with a 0.60 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Post-WrestleMania 38 episode)
April 15 Episode: 2.142 million viewers with a 0.48 rating in the 18-49 demographic
April 22 Episode: 1.952 million viewers with a 0.47 rating in the 18-49 demographic
April 29 Episode: 1.953 million viewers with a 0.38 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Taped episode)
May 6 Episode: 1.998 million viewers with a 0.46 rating in the 18-49 demographic
May 13 Episode: 1.893 million viewers with a 0.40 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Post-WrestleMania Backlash episode)
May 20 Episode: 2.031 million viewers with a 0.45 rating in the 18-49 demographic
May 27 Episode: 1.878 million viewers with a 0.43 rating in the 18-49 demographic
June 3 Episode: 1.939 million viewers with a 0.47 rating in the 18-49 demographic
June 10 Episode: 1.914 million viewers with a 0.44 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Post-Hell In a Cell episode)
June 17 Episode: 2.389 million viewers with a 0.62 rating in the 18-49 demographic
June 24 Episode: 2.231 million viewers with a 0.53 rating in the 18-49 demographic
July 1 Episode: 2.142 million viewers with a 0.49 rating in the 18-49 demographic
July 8 Episode: 2.129 million viewers with a 0.47 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Post-Money In the Bank episode)
July 15 Episode: 2.077 million viewers with a 0.47 rating in the 18-49 demographic
July 22 Episode: 2.256 million viewers with a 0.62 rating in the 18-49 demographic
July 29 Episode: 2.193 million viewers with a 0.52 rating in the 18-49 demographic
August 5 Episode: 2.093 million viewers with a 0.49 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Post-SummerSlam episode)
August 12 Episode: 1.927 million viewers with a 0.44 rating in the 18-49 demographic
August 19 Episode: 2.084 million viewers with a 0.47 rating in the 18-49 demographic (1200th episode)
August 26 Episode: 1.990 million viewers with a 0.48 rating in the 18-49 demographic
September 2 Episode: 2.077 million viewers with a 0.49 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Taped episode)
September 9 Episode: 2.367 million viewers with a 0.57 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Post-Clash at The Castle episode)
September 16 Episode: 2.212 million viewers with a 0.50 rating in the 18-49 demographic
September 23 Episode: 2.535 million viewers with a 0.62 rating in the 18-49 demographic
September 30 Episode: 2.207 million viewers with a 0.54 rating in the 18-49 demographic
October 7 Episode: 2.243 million viewers with a 0.54 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Season Premiere)
October 14 Episode: 2.274 million viewers with a 0.54 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Post-Extreme Rules episode)
October 21 Episode: 2.231 million viewers with a 0.52 rating in the 18-49 demographic
October 28 Episode: 835,000 viewers with a 0.23 rating in the 18-49 demographic (FS1 cable episode)
November 4 Episode: 2.131 million viewers with a 0.48 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Taped episode)
November 11 Episode: 2.264 million viewers with a 0.58 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Post-Crown Jewel Veteran’s Day episode)
November 18 Episode: 2.232 million viewers with a 0.56 rating in the 18-49 demographic
November 25 Episode: 2.166 million viewers with a 0.54 rating in the 18-49 demographic
December 2 Episode: 902,000 viewers with a 0.25 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Post-Survivor Series FS1 cable episode)
December 9 Episode: 2.306 million viewers with a 0.57 rating in the 18-49 demographic
December 16 Episode: 2.191 million viewers with a 0.52 rating in the 18-49 demographic
December 23 Episode: 2.376 million viewers with a 0.55 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Taped episode)
December 30 Episode: 2.629 million viewers with a 0.64 rating in the 18-49 demographic
2022 Viewership Average: 2.123 million viewers per episode over 52 episodes
2022 18-49 Key Demo Rating Average: 0.51 rating per episode over 52 episodes
2022 FOX Viewership Average: 2.173 million viewers per episode over 50 episodes
2022 FOX 18-49 Key Demo Rating Average: 0.53 rating per episode over 50 episodes
2021 Viewership Average: 2.050 million viewers per episode over 52 episodes (2,082,154 without Best Of episode)
2021 18-49 Key Demo Rating Average: 0.54 rating per episode over 52 episodes (0.55 without Best Of episode)
2021 FOX Viewership Average: 2.127 million viewers per episode over 50 episodes
2021 FOX 18-49 Key Demo Rating Average: 0.56 rating per episode over 50 episodes
2021 FS1 Viewership Average: 758,667 viewers per episode (includes Best Of episode; 949,000 without it)
2021 FS1 18-49 Key Demo Rating Average: 0.20 rating per episode (includes Best Of episode; 0.27 without it)
2020 Viewership Average: 2.180 million viewers per episode (2 FS1 airings)
2019 Viewership Average: 2.164 million viewers per episode (1 FS1 airing)
2018 Viewership Average: 2.352 million viewers per episode
2017 Viewership Average: 2.546 million viewers per episode
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