Friday’s live 1200th edition of WWE SmackDown drew an average of 2.084 million viewers on FOX, according to Nielsen, via Showbuzz Daily.
This final number is up 8.15% from the previous week’s final viewership of 1.927 million viewers.
Friday’s SmackDown drew a 0.47 rating in the key 18-49 demographic. This is up 6.81% from the previous week’s 0.44 rating. This week’s 0.47 key demo rating represents 613,000 18-49 viewers, which is up 6.79% from the 574,000 18-49 viewers that the previous week’s 0.44 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 four weeks before that. SmackDown ranked #2 in the 18-34 demo this week, up from the previous week’s #4 ranking. SmackDown ranked #1 in the 25-54 demo, even with the previous week’s #1 ranking, and the seven weeks before that. SmackDown came in at #5 for the night in viewership on network TV, even with the previous week’s #5 ranking. While SmackDown topped the night on network TV in the key demographic, 20/20 on ABC topped the night in viewership with 2.558 million viewers, also drawing a 0.35 key demo rating.
Friday’s SmackDown was pre-empted in multiple markets due to the NFL pre-season games, like last week, but not as extensively, and the show aired later on a sister broadcast network for affected markets. There was sports competition on Friday night from the two NFL Pre-season games on the NFL Network, Major League Soccer on ESPN and ESPN Deportes, and Little League World Series games on ESPN. Despite the pre-emptions and the competition, Friday’s viewership was up 8.15% from the previous week’s episode, while the key demo rating was up 6.81% from the previous week’s episode.
The NFL Pre-season game between Carolina and New England on the NFL Network topped the night on the Cable Top 150 with a 0.25 key demo rating, also drawing 985,000 viewers. The Five on FOX News topped the night on cable in viewership with 3.160 million viewers, also drawing a 0.14 key demo rating for the #9 spot on the Cable Top 150.
Viewership for Friday’s SmackDown episode was down 0.85% from the same week in 2021, while Friday’s 18-49 key demo rating was down 17.54% from the same week in 2021.
Friday’s live 1200th edition of SmackDown aired from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, with the following line-up advertised – The Viking Raiders host a Viking funeral for The New Day, Toxic Attraction vs. Natalya and Sonya Deville in a first round match in the tournament for the vacant WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles, plus Drew McIntyre and Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns facing off for Clash at The Castle, which was the show-closing segment.
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: 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: 2.261 million viewers with a 0.59 rating in the 18-49 demographic
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:
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:
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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