Monday’s tightly-contested NFL matchup between NFC East rivals the New York Giants and Washington Redskins wreaked havoc on the already-struggling WWE RAW, sending its numbers down to a major low.
Certain to end up as one of the least-watched non-holiday RAWs since 1997, Monday’s episode averaged just 3.44 million viewers and an abysmal 1.1 adults 18-49 rating.
WWE loaded up its 10PM hour enough to avoid repeating last week’s massive drop-off, but considering that final hour featured a Vince McMahon appearance and a big show-closing angle involving many top names, its viewership level was still disappointing. That hour averaged a 1.1 rating with 3.36 million viewers, down from the 1.1 and 3.37 million for 9PM and 1.2 and 3.58 million for 8PM.
The football game, with an impressive 6.0 rating and 16.21 million viewers surely had an impact, although it is worth noting that the competitive audience was not as formidable as that from a night earlier this season, when RAW faced football, the baseball play-offs and a Presidential debate.
So for as much as competition might be the culprit for the week-over-week decrease, it cannot explain the entirety of WWE’s recent ratings woes.
