Goodbye, Olympics. Hello, NFL Football. Where are you, good RAW ratings?
After delivering its best numbers since 2009 for the RAW 1000 episode, WWE’s weekly Monday show fell to lukewarm levels in two consecutive outings against NBC’s Olympics coverage. The numbers were not bad given the competition, but that “not bad” label was predicated on the notion that the Olympics broadcast was actively dragging the numbers down.
That excuse would not apply to this week’s number, and yet the viewership totals are actually down from last week.
RAW’s three-hour broadcast only averaged 4.1 million viewers, by far its lowest since expanding to regularly include the 8PM hour. Its adults 18-49 rating was up slightly to a 1.6, but that is still well below what RAW delivers on a “good week.”
Without the challenge from the Olympics, this week’s RAW did, however, manage to reverse the downward trend at 10PM. As NBC had been airing the key events in the 10PM and 11PM hours, the past two RAW viewership numbers actually fell from 9PM to 10PM, typically seen as a negative trend.
But the consistent upward trajectory meant little due to the very soft start at 8PM. WWE tried to draw more eyeballs to the 8PM hour with promise of a CM Punk vs. Big Show match, but that first frame started weakly with a 1.4 rating and just 3.80 million viewers. Hours two and three averaged 4.25 and 4.35 million, respectively.
Monday’s RAW did face preseason NFL action (2.2 rating, 5.4 million) and the series finale of “The Closer” (1.6 rating, 9.1 million), but neither amounts to the competition imposed by the Olympics. And that combination will not be as damning as most regular season Monday Night Football games this year.
