Ratings for TNA iMPACT! predictably fell this week against the mammoth NBA Finals Game Seven between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, but the decline was hardly as devastating as some expected.
With 1.215 million viewers, the show was down only 5% from last week’s 1.276 million tally. Interestingly, while the show’s adults 18-49 rating dipped from a 0.4 to a 0.3, the household aggregate (rating for all households, not the “cable rating” that wrestling websites frequently post) improved from a 0.8 to a 0.9. For wrestling fans, that means the news is even better, as any decline will not even show up in the final ‘rating’ for the show.
— Meanwhile, Thursday’s episode of “Royal Pains” featuring a guest spot from WWE’s The Big Show performed considerably well for USA. With a 1.6 adults 18-49 rating and 5.514 million viewers, the show held up well from last week, a feat given the more intense NBA competition and the fact that lead-in “Burn Notice” was down from 5.674 million viewers and a 1.8 rating to 5.306 million with a 1.6.
For what it is worth given the possibility that members of WWE’s target young adult (majority male) audience might have sampled “Pains,” the show did 1.22 million female 18-49 viewers, compared with 0.951 million young males. The female demographic actually played a bigger part in its ‘victory’ over “Notice,” which had a more even gender slant (1.111 million females vs. 0.967 males).
