Wednesday’s extended version of WWE’s “Tribute to the Troops” proved that wrestling fans simply have more interest in a cable, weekday broadcast of squared circle action.
The two-hour show averaged 3.01 million viewers with a 0.9 adults 18-49 rating, a slight improvement from the first-run, hourlong edition on NBC last Saturday. Even before being adjusted to include only households with cable, the show’s household rating topped Saturday’s broadcast number with a solid 1.75.
Even though the promotion did not necessarily treat it as such and actually better-played up the celebrity angle by exaggerating the involvement of big names like Taylor Swift, this was still technically a re-run airing, making the rating all the more impressive.
The solid performance provided a better-than-expected lead-in for the “Psych” season five finale, which registered a soft 0.9 adults 18-49 rating with 2.90 million viewers. Though the lead-in was still not as valuable as that of a procedural re-run on USA, “Tribute to the Troops” definitely exceeded low-end expectations and thus did not drastically hurt the number.
The “Psych” season finale outperformed the prior week’s pair of episodes in total viewers, but its demo figure was down a tenth.
