John Cena [NBC Universal]
Tuesday’s edition of WWE SmackDown! Live could not match the live+same-day ratings posted by the previous week’s roster draft edition.
It did, however, markedly outperform the final Thursday night edition.
According to live+same-day data posted by Showbuzz, Tuesday’s two-hour broadcast drew a 0.97 adults 18-49 rating and 2.74 million total viewers. The numbers trail the 1.18 rating and 3.17 million viewership sum posted by the previous week’s draft episode.
The numbers are also below the 1.23 rating and 3.34 million viewership sum drawn by Monday’s RAW, which marked the beginning of WWE’s new brand extension.
On the other hand, they dramatically top the 0.56 rating and 2.07 million viewership sum posted by the final, taped Thursday night edition of SmackDown. More broadly, the adults 18-49 and viewership tally for Tuesday’s SmackDown! Live are comfortably above the show’s Thursday night averages.
WWE did not quite create a second RAW, and the ratings may fall as curiosity over the brand extension fades. If they can stay in this general territory, however, they will reveal clear wisdom in transforming SmackDown! from a taped Thursday night show into a live Tuesday night series.