Friday’s live Edge 25th Anniversary Celebration edition of WWE SmackDown drew an average of 2.094 million viewers on FOX, according to Nielsen, via Wrestlenomics. This final number is down 0.14% from the previous week’s final viewership of 2.097 million viewers for the post-SummerSlam show.
Friday’s SmackDown drew a 0.55 rating in the key 18-49 demographic. This is even with the previous week’s 0.55 rating. This past week’s 0.55 key demo rating represents 723,000 18-49 viewers, which is up 0.42% from the 720,000 18-49 viewers that the 0.55 key demo rating drew the previous week.
SmackDown ranked #1 on broadcast TV for Friday night, according to spoilertv.com. Like the week before, Friday’s SmackDown was preempted in several markets due to NFL pre-season games. The week before was preempted in 18 markets, while Friday’s SmackDown was preempted in the following 10 markets: Atlanta, GA; Binghamton, NY; Birmingham, AL; Burlington, VT; Charlotte, NC; Columbia, SC; Lima, OH; Louisville, KY; Myrtle Beach, SC; Wilmington, NC. In all preempted markets, SmackDown aired either on a delay or on an affiliated broadcast network, and all preempted airings are counted by Nielsen in the number reported above. This was the second-lowest total audience of the year so far for FOX airings, and the fourth-lowest key demo rating of the year so far, tied with three other episodes. Friday’s show drew less than the 2022 FOX average in viewership, but the key demo rating was above the 2022 average. Friday’s SmackDown viewership was down 0.14% from the previous week, and the key demo rating was even with the previous week.
Viewership for Friday’s SmackDown episode was up 0.48% from the same week in 2022, while Friday’s 18-49 key demo rating was up 17.02% from the same week in 2022. The 2022 episode was the SmackDown 1200 show.
Friday’s Edge 25th Anniversary Celebration edition of SmackDown on FOX aired live from the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with the following line-up advertised ahead of time – the 25th Anniversary Celebration for WWE Hall of Famer Edge, Charlotte Flair and Bianca Belair vs. WWE Women’s Champion IYO SKY and Bayley, The Grayson Waller Effect with Santos Escobar and 2023 WWE Hall of Famer & WWE United States Champion Rey Mysterio, plus Edge vs. Sheamus for the first time ever, which was the main event.
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:
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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