Friday’s live Payback go-home edition of WWE SmackDown drew an average of 2.443 million viewers on FOX, according to Nielsen, via Wrestlenomics. This final number is down 7.70% from the previous week’s final viewership of 2.647 million viewers for the tribute show to Bray Wyatt and WWE Hall of Famer Terry Funk.
Friday’s SmackDown drew a 0.65 rating in the key 18-49 demographic. This is down 16.66% from the previous week’s 0.78 rating. This past week’s 0.65 key demo rating represents 848,000 18-49 viewers, which is down 17.02% from the 1.022 million 18-49 viewers that the 0.78 key demo rating drew the previous week.
SmackDown ranked #1 on broadcast TV for Friday night, for the sixth week in a row, according to spoilertv.com. Friday’s show drew the second-highest total audience of the year so far, and the sixth-highest key demo rating of the year so far. Friday’s viewership and key demo rating were well above the 2022 FOX average for the blue brand. Friday’s SmackDown viewership was down 7.70% from the previous week, and the key demo rating was down 16.66% from the previous week.
Viewership for Friday’s SmackDown episode was up 17.62% from the same week in 2022, while Friday’s 18-49 key demo rating was up 32.65% from the same week in 2022. The 2022 episode was the taped Clash at The Castle go-home show.
Friday’s Payback go-home edition of SmackDown on FOX aired live from the GIANT Center in Hershey, PA, with the following line-up advertised ahead of time – the go-home build for WWE Payback, John Cena’s return to WWE TV, Jimmy Uso’s first appearance since Jey Uso “quit” weeks before, Austin Theory and Grayson Waller vs. Santos Escobar and 2023 WWE Hall of Famer & United States Champion Rey Mysterio, plus a war of words between LA Knight and The Miz. The main event ended up being Solo Sikoa vs. AJ Styles.
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:
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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