Smackdown lands in top spot in cable ratings on Tuesday among 18-49 demo
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Last night’s episode of WWE Smackdown Live on USA Network (12/18) drew a 1.58 rating, higher than last week’s 1.43 and the record low 1.39 rating from two weeks ago. This week’s rating is still sub-1.60 for the fifth straight week.
This week’s rating is the average rating since May 1 when WWE’s WrestleMania and Superstar Shake-up viewership bump tends to subside. The 1.58 is also above the 1.53 ten week rolling average headed into this week.
So while the 1.39 rating of two weeks ago was alarming, it’s a bit of an outlier at this point considering that the average since May 1 with a high of 1.72 and a low of 1.39. Most ratings in recent months have been roughly in the 1.50 to 1.65 range.
Smackdown’s rating this week was good enough to top cable’s Tuesday ratings in the key 18-49 demographic with a 0.7 rating, tied with “Curse of Oak Island” on History Channel. “Curse of Oak Island” drew 3.159 million viewers compared to 2.214 million viewers for Smackdown. A total of six shows drew more viewers than Smackdown, topped by MSNBC’s “Rachel Maddow Show” with 3.444 million viewers (the top on all of cable Tuesday night) and MSNBC’s “Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” with 2.645 million total viewers. Two Fox News shows and another MSNBC show also topped Smackdown in total viewership.
“Chrisley Knows Best” on USA Network after Smackdown drew a 0.4 rating in the 18-49 demo, good for fifth place in the cable ratings in that key demo.
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