Friday’s live edition of WWE SmackDown drew an average of 2.174 million viewers on FOX, according to Nielsen, via Showbuzz Daily.
This final number is down 4.27% from the previous week’s final viewership of 2.271 million viewers for the first episode of 2022.
Friday’s SmackDown drew a 0.56 rating in the key 18-49 demographic. This is down 3.44% from the previous week’s 0.58 rating. This week’s 0.56 key demo rating represents 730,000 18-49 viewers, which is down 3.34% from the 756,000 18-49 viewers that the previous week’s 0.58 key demo rating drew, according to Wrestlenomics.
SmackDown ranked #2 in ratings for the key 18-49 demographic on network TV, up from the previous week’s #3 ranking. SmackDown ranked #1 in the 18-34 demo this week, up from the previous week’s #2 ranking. SmackDown ranked #5 in the 25-54 demo, down from the previous week’s #3 ranking. SmackDown came in at #8 for the night in viewership on network TV, down from the previous week’s #7 ranking. Blue Bloods on CBS topped the night on network TV in viewership this week with 6.438 million viewers, while ABC’s Shark Tank topped the night in the key demographic with a 0.60 rating.
Friday’s live SmackDown saw a drop in viewership and key demo rating from the previous week, but the numbers were up from what the show had been doing at the end of the year. Friday’s viewership was down 4.27% from the previous week’s episode, while the key demo rating was up 20.83% from the previous week’s episode.
The NBA game between the Maverick and the Grizzlies on ESPN topped the night on the Cable Top 150 with a 0.48 key demo rating, drawing 1.400 million viewers. The Five on FOX News topped the night on cable in viewership with 3.444 million viewers, ranking #7 on the Cable Top 150 with a 0.23 key demo rating.
Viewership for Friday’s SmackDown episode was down 3.89% from the same week in 2021, while Friday’s 18-49 key demo rating was down 16.41% from the same week in 2021.
Friday’s live SmackDown from the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska had the following line-up advertised ahead of time – WWE Hall of Famer Lita making her first blue brand appearance in almost 20 years, Aliyah making her blue brand singles debut against Natalya, Sami Zayn debuting his new InZayn stunt show to “out-Jackass” Johnny Knoxville, and the main event segment, which was WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns coming face-to-face with Seth Rollins.
Stay tuned for more ratings data. Below is our 2022 SmackDown Viewership Tracker, along with the Top 10 moments from Friday’s show:
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:
2021 Viewership Average: 2.050 million viewers per episode (2,082,154 without Best Of episode)
2021 18-49 Key Demo Rating Average: 0.54 rating per episode (0.55 without Best Of episode)
2021 FOX Viewership Average: 2.127 million viewers per episode
2021 FOX 18-49 Key Demo Rating Average: 0.56 rating per episode
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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