Combined, the two hours of Monday’s WWE RAW delivered an improved rating, even against stiff competition from football, the Kim Kardashian wedding special, a baseball playoffs game and the normal slate of broadcast competition.
But the news was not all good–RAW suffered a terrible viewership bleed from hour one to hour two, indicative of a vote of no confidence on how WWE handled the “walkout” storyline.
The show’s first hour posted a strong 2.0 adults 18-49 rating with 5.4 million viewers (a 3.5 cable coverage rating), revealing the extent to which curiosity hooked viewers into the beginning of RAW.
By hour two, the interest was fading. The second hour only mustered a 1.8 A18-49 rating with 4.7 million viewers (and a 3.0 cable coverage rating).