Friday’s live WWE Supersized SmackDown drew an average of 866,000 viewers on FS1, according to Nielsen, via Showbuzz Daily.
This final number is down 60% from last week’s final viewership of 2.147 million viewers for the season premiere episode on FOX, but it should be noted that this week’s show aired on cable due to the NFL airing on FOX.
Friday’s SmackDown drew a 0.24 rating in the key 18-49 demographic on cable. This is down 53.84% from last week’s 0.52 rating on network TV. This week’s 0.24 key demo rating represents 314,000 18-49 viewers, which is down 53.82% from the 680,000 18-49 viewers that last week’s 0.52 key demo rating represented on network TV, according to Wrestlenomics.
To compare, the last SmackDown episode to air on FS1 was the December 18, 2020 TLC go-home show, which drew 1.030 million viewers with a 0.30 rating in the 18-49 demographic. The October 23, 2020 Hell In a Cell go-home show also aired on FS1, drawing 881,000 viewers with a 0.25 rating in the 18-49 demo.
SmackDown ranked #3 on the Cable Top 150 for the night with the 0.24 key demo rating, and #32 for the night on cable in viewership.
Viewership for Friday’s SmackDown episode was down 59.22% from the same week in 2020, while Friday’s 18-49 key demo rating was down 60% from the same week in 2020. The 2020 episode aired in the normal network TV timeslot, and was the season premiere.
Friday’s live AEW Rampage drew an average of 578,000 viewers on TNT, according to Nielsen via Showbuzz Daily.
This is up 15.14% from last week’s taped Rampage, which drew 502,000 viewers.
Friday’s live Rampage drew a 0.24 rating in the 18-49 key demographic. This is up 41.17% from last week’s episode, which drew a 0.17 rating in the key demo. This week’s 0.24 key demo rating represents 313,000 18-49 viewers, which is up 39.11% from the 225,000 18-49 viewers that last week’s 0.17 key demo rating represented, according to Wrestlenomics.
Friday’s Rampage ranked #4 for the night on the Cable Top 150 with the 0.24 key demo rating. This is up from last week’s #15 ranking.
Friday’s Rampage ranked #56 in viewership for the night on cable. This is up from last week’s #74 ranking.
To compare WWE vs. AEW, SmackDown and Rampage tied with a 0.24 rating in the 18-49 key demographic, but SmackDown drew 866,000 viewers, up 49.83% from the 578,000 that Rampage drew. SmackDown ran from 8pm – 10:30pm with the last 30 minutes airing commercial-free, while Rampage ran from 10pm – 11pm with the first match airing commercial-free.
It should be noted that the full total viewership for SmackDown was 955,000 this week as the show drew another 89,000 viewers on MyNetworkTV in Chicago and New York City. That makes the total key 18-49 demo viewership for this week at 331,000 viewers as MyNetworkTV in Chicago and New York adds another 17,000.
The college football game on ESPN topped the night on the Cable Top 150 with a 0.50 key demo rating, drawing 2.115 million viewers. The Five on FOX News topped the night on cable in viewership with 2.907 million viewers, ranking #6 on the Cable Top 150 with a 0.22 key demo rating.
The MLB ALCS game on FOX topped the night on network TV in viewership with an average of 6.136 million viewers. The MLB ALCS game also topped the night on network TV in the 18-49 key demo with a 1.40 rating.
Friday’s live Supersized SmackDown from the Toyota Arena in Ontario, CA had several happenings advertised ahead of time – the final blue brand build for Crown Jewel, Finn Balor vs. Sami Zayn in the King of the Ring Tournament semi-finals, Carmella vs. Zelina Vega in the Queen’s Crown Tournament semi-finals, Sonya Deville’s in-ring return against Naomi, SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks in a non-title match, SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos defending against The Street Profits in a Street Fight, plus Brock Lesnar appearing to confront WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, which ended up being a show-closing contract signing for Crown Jewel.
Friday’s live Rampage from the James L. Knight Center in Miami, FL featured a few happenings advertised ahead of time – CM Punk vs. Matt Sydal in the commercial-free opener, Ruby Soho vs. The Bunny, plus The Inner Circle vs. Man of the Year and the debuting Junior dos Santos, which was the main event. The show also had a one-hour “The Buy In” pre-show that aired on YouTube with Bryan Danielson vs. Minoru Suzuki, Bobby Fish vs. Lee Moriarty, and Tay Conti vs. Santana Garrett.
Stay tuned for more pro wrestling ratings data.
Below is our 2021 AEW Rampage Viewership Tracker:
August 13 Episode: 740,000 viewers with a 0.30 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Premiere episode)
August 20 Episode: 1.129 million viewers with a 0.53 rating in the 18-49 demographic (The First Dance episode for CM Punk’s debut)
August 27 Episode: 722,000 viewers with a 0.34 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Taped episode)
September 3 Episode: 696,000 viewers with a 0.30 rating in the 18-49 demographic
September 10 Episode: 670,000 viewers with a 0.27 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Post-All Out taped episode)
September 17 Episode: 642,000 viewers with a 0.28 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Taped episode)
September 24 Episode: 640,000 viewers with a 0.29 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Two-hour Grand Slam taped episode)
October 1 Episode: 622,000 viewers with a 0.25 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Taped episode)
October 8 Episode: 502,000 viewers with a 0.17 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Taped episode)
October 15 Episode: 578,000 viewers with a 0.24 rating in the 18-49 demographic
October 22 Episode:
Below is our 2021 SmackDown Viewership Tracker, along with the Top 10 moments from Friday’s show:
January 1 Episode: 2.013 million viewers with a 0.53 rating in the 18-49 demographic (New Year’s episode)
January 8 Episode: 2.120 million viewers with a 0.56 rating in the 18-49 demographic
January 15 Episode: 2.262 million viewers with a 0.67 rating in the 18-49 demographic
January 22 Episode: 2.383 million viewers with a 0.63 rating in the 18-49 demographic
January 29 Episode: 2.304 million viewers with a 0.62 rating in the 18-49 demographic
February 5 Episode: 2.257 million viewers with a 0.65 rating in the 18-49 demographic (post-Royal Rumble episode)
February 12 Episode: 1.990 million viewers with a 0.57 rating in the 18-49 demographic
February 19 Episode: 2.217 million viewers with a 0.59 rating in the 18-49 demographic
February 26 Episode: 2.145 million viewers with a 0.54 rating in the 18-49 demographic (post-Elimination Chamber episode)
March 5 Episode: 2.252 million viewers with a 0.60 rating in the 18-49 demographic
March 12 Episode: 2.171 million viewers with a 0.61 rating in the 18-49 demographic
March 19 Episode: 2.093 million viewers with a 0.57 rating in the 18-49 demographic
March 26 Episode: 2.191 million viewers with a 0.57 rating in the 18-49 demographic (post-Fastlane episode)
April 2 Episode: 2.137 million viewers with a 0.57 rating in the 18-49 demographic
April 9 Episode: 2.250 million viewers with a 0.61 rating in the 18-49 demographic
April 16 Episode: 2.119 million viewers with a 0.56 rating in the 18-49 demographic (post-WrestleMania 37 episode)
April 23 Episode: 2.121 million viewers with a 0.54 rating in the 18-49 demographic
April 30 Episode: 2.018 million viewers with a 0.49 rating in the 18-49 demographic
May 7 Episode: 2.282 million viewers with a 0.65 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Throwback episode)
May 14 Episode: 1.917 million viewers with a 0.44 rating in the 18-49 demographic
May 21 Episode: 1.933 million viewers with a 0.50 rating in the 18-49 demographic (post-WrestleMania Backlash episode)
May 28 Episode: 1.928 million viewers with a 0.50 rating in the 18-49 demographic
June 4 Episode: 1.883 million viewers with a 0.50 rating in the 18-49 demographic
June 11 Episode: 1.944 million viewers with a 0.48 rating in the 18-49 demographic
June 18 Episode: 2.045 million viewers with a 0.54 rating in the 18-49 demographic
June 25 Episode: 1.971 million viewers with a 0.54 rating in the 18-49 demographic (post-Hell In a Cell episode)
July 2 Episode: 1.861 million viewers with a 0.46 rating in the 18-49 demographic
July 9 Episode: 1.986 million viewers with a 0.48 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Final ThunderDome era)
July 16 Episode: 2.310 million viewers with a 0.66 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Return to the road episode)
July 23 Episode: 2.137 million viewers with a 0.55 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Post-Money In the Bank episode)
July 30 Episode: 2.043 million viewers with a 0.57 rating in the 18-49 demographic
August 6 Episode: 2.169 million viewers with a 0.61 rating in the 18-49 demographic
August 13 Episode: 2.084 million viewers with a 0.58 rating in the 18-49 demographic
August 20 Episode: 2.102 million viewers with a 0.57 rating in the 18-49 demographic
August 27 Episode: 2.250 million viewers with a 0.59 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Post-SummerSlam episode)
September 3 Episode: 2.220 million viewers with a 0.62 rating in the 18-49 demographic
September 10 Episode: 2.383 million viewers with a 0.65 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Super SmackDown episode)
September 17 Episode: 2.243 million viewers with a 0.58 rating in the 18-49 demographic
September 24 Episode: 2.135 million viewers with a 0.55 rating in the 18-49 demographic
October 1 Episode: 2.252 million viewers with a 0.62 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Draft Night 1 post-Extreme Rules episode)
October 8 Episode: 2.147 million viewers with a 0.52 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Season premiere episode)
October 15 Episode: 866,000 viewers with a 0.24 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Supersized episode on cable FS1)
October 22 Episode:
2020 Total: 113.372 million viewers
2020 Average: 2.180 million viewers per episode (2 FS1 airings)
2019 Total: 112.530 million viewers
2019 Average: 2.164 million viewers per episode (1 FS1 airing)
2018 Total: 122.304 million viewers
2018 Average: 2.352 million viewers per episode
2017 Total: 132.401 million viewers
2017 Average: 2.546 million viewers per episode
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