Wrestling

Raw had its worst numbers since January against the NBA and NHL Playoffs

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WWE.com

Outside of Raw’s weekly competition with the NFL during football season, the stretch of the calendar we’ve just entered is probably the one where WWE programming gets the most competition from live sports thanks to the NBA and NHL Playoffs.

The first round of both was in full swing on Mon., April 22, and it looks to have had an impact on Raw’s numbers. According to Wrestlenomics, the show averaged 1,597,000 viewers per hour. That’s a little more than 12% less than April 15, and the smallest audience Raw’s had since football ended in January. The 18-49 year old demographic dropped almost 15% week-to-week, and the .52 is also the lowest since January.

While there were three basketball and four hockey games that aired opposite parts of Raw, the main competition came from TNT & TruTV’s doubleheader. The early game between the Philadelphia 76ers & New York Knicks was watched by nearly 3.5 million and did a combined 1.17 in the demo, then Raw’s third hour went against the Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets game that had 4.25 million viewers and a 1.52 in 18-49 across the two networks. Raw finished third on the night behind those two games.

If there’s a red flag in these otherwise understandable numbers, it’s that the show was down from the same week as last year when Raw faced similar competition. But the good news s that with the Draft being a focus of next week’s episode, things should bound back in a hurry — even against the NBA and NHL Playoffs.

Until we find out how that all shakes out, here’s a rundown of the past year’s worth for Raw:

* Pre-recorded “Best of” show

For complete results and this week’s Raw live blog click here. To read a recap & review of the night’s events click here. For video highlights of the show click here.

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