Friday’s live edition of WWE SmackDown drew an average of 2.569 million viewers on FOX, according to Nielsen, via Wrestlenomics. This final number is up 22.68% from the previous week’s final viewership of 2.094 million viewers for the post-Payback show.
Friday’s SmackDown drew a 0.70 rating in the key 18-49 demographic. This is up 32.07% from the previous week’s 0.53 rating. This past week’s 0.70 key demo rating represents 918,000 18-49 viewers, which is up 32.66% from the 692,000 18-49 viewers that the 0.53 key demo rating drew the previous week.
SmackDown ranked #1 on broadcast TV for Friday night, for the eighth week in a row, according to spoilertv.com. This is the sixth SmackDown episode to draw more than 2.5 million viewers in 2023 so far. Friday’s show drew the second-highest total audience of the year so far, behind the tribute episode for Bray Wyatt and WWE Hall of Famer Terry Funk on August 25, and the fourth-highest key demo rating of the year so far. Excluding the August 25 tribute episode, this was the highest SmackDown audience going back to the December 30, 2022 episode. Friday’s viewership and key demo rating were both well above the 2022 FOX average. Friday’s SmackDown viewership was up 22.68% from the previous week, and the key demo rating was up 32.07% from the previous week.
Viewership for Friday’s SmackDown episode was up 16.14% from the same week in 2022, while Friday’s 18-49 key demo rating was up 40% from the same week in 2022.
Friday’s SmackDown on FOX aired live from the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, with the following line-up advertised ahead of time – LA Knight vs. The Miz, Asuka vs. Bayley, Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champion Finn Balor vs. AJ Styles, plus John Cena appearing on The Grayson Waller Effect, which was the show-closing segment. While not officially announced by WWE, it was heavily rumored that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Pat McAfee would be making an appearance, and they did in the opening segment.
Below is our 2023 SmackDown Viewership Tracker, along with the Top 10 moments from Friday’s show:
January 6 Episode: 2.257 million viewers with a 0.53 rating in the 18-49 demographic
January 13 Episode: 2.326 million viewers with a 0.55 rating in the 18-49 demographic
January 20 Episode: 2.257 million viewers with a 0.55 rating in the 18-49 demographic
January 27 Episode: 2.544 million viewers with a 0.67 rating in the 18-49 demographic
February 3 Episode: 2.384 million viewers with a 0.61 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Post-Royal Rumble episode)
February 10 Episode: 2.468 million viewers with a 0.64 rating in the 18-49 demographic
February 17 Episode: 2.383 million viewers with a 0.58 rating in the 18-49 demographic
February 24 Episode: 2.408 million viewers with a 0.62 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Post-Elimination Chamber episode)
March 3 Episode: 2.451 million viewers with a 0.59 rating in the 18-49 demographic
March 10 Episode: 2.320 million viewers with a 0.63 rating in the 18-49 demographic
March 17 Episode: 2.258 million viewers with a 0.59 rating in the 18-49 demographic
March 24 Episode: 2.219 million viewers with a 0.58 rating in the 18-49 demographic
March 31 Episode: 2.484 million viewers with a 0.69 rating in the 18-49 demographic
April 7 Episode: 2.468 million viewers with a 0.69 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Post-WrestleMania 39 episode)
April 14 Episode: 2.265 million viewers with a 0.58 rating in the 18-49 demographic
April 21 Episode: 2.175 million viewers with a 0.54 rating in the 18-49 demographic
April 28 Episode: 2.473 million viewers with a 0.67 rating in the 18-49 demographic (WWE Draft episode)
May 5 Episode: 2.059 million viewers with a 0.52 rating in the 18-49 demographic
May 12 Episode: 2.149 million viewers with a 0.56 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Post-Backlash episode)
May 19 Episode: 2.133 million viewers with a 0.53 rating in the 18-49 demographic
May 26 Episode: 2.158 million viewers with a 0.52 rating in the 18-49 demographic
June 2 Episode: 2.563 million viewers with a 0.73 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Post-Night of Champions episode)
June 9 Episode: 2.278 million viewers with a 0.60 rating in the 18-49 demographic
June 16 Episode: 2.430 million viewers with a 0.67 rating in the 18-49 demographic
June 23 Episode: 2.354 million viewers with a 0.61 rating in the 18-49 demographic
June 30 Episode: 2.510 million viewers with a 0.69 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Taped episode)
July 7 Episode: 2.561 million viewers with a 0.76 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Post-Money In the Bank episode)
July 14 Episode: 2.309 million viewers with a 0.62 rating in the 18-49 demographic
July 21 Episode: 1.230 million viewers with a 0.36 rating in the 18-49 demographic (FS1 cable episode)
July 28 Episode: 2.323 million viewers with a 0.61 rating in the 18-49 demographic
August 4 Episode: 2.248 million viewers with a 0.62 rating in the 18-49 demographic
August 11 Episode: 2.097 million viewers with a 0.55 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Post-SummerSlam episode)
August 18 Episode: 2.094 million viewers with a 0.55 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Edge 25th Anniversary episode)
August 25 Episode: 2.647 million viewers with a 0.78 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Bray Wyatt and Terry Funk Tribute episode)
September 1 Episode: 2.443 million viewers with a 0.65 rating in the 18-49 demographic
September 8 Episode: 2.094 million viewers with a 0.53 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Post-Payback episode)
September 15 Episode: 2.569 million viewers with a 0.70 rating in the 18-49 demographic
September 23 Episode:
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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