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Fox’s “Friday Night SmackDown” got humbled a little bit last night, when the WWE pro-wrestling series attracted the smallest TV audience (2.441 million total viewers) of any other show on the Big 4 broadcast networks, which refers to CBS, NBC, Fox and ABC.
That said, and despite a 30% week to week drop in the important adults 18-49 demographic, “SmackDown” was the highest-rated series of the night, which means Fox was still the No. 1 network on Friday. But it was close this time: Fox’s (and “SmackDown’s”) 0.7 rating in the key demo just squeaked by CBS’ 0.6, according to Nielsen’s Live + Same Day ratings.
In terms of total viewers, “SmackDown” declined 16% from the prior Friday. CBS attracted the most overall eyeballs again, this time reeling in a primetime average of 6.4 million viewers.
Also Read: Has WWE 'SmackDown' Been a Boon for Fox, or a Billion-Dollar Bust?
On an individual series basis, the second-smallest overall audience went to ABC sitcom “Fresh Off the Boat,” which had 2.474 million total viewers. To be fair to Fox, “SmackDown” had to maintain its 2.4 million viewer-average from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., while “FOTB” only needed to keep the attention of its 2.5 million viewers from 8:30 to 9 p.m.
A trio of shows averaged 0.6 ratings among adults 18-49 last night: “Hawaii Five-0,” “Blue Bloods” and “American Housewife.” In case you’re wondering, “Fresh Off the Boat” posted a 0.5 rating. (Only NBC’s “The Blacklist” and ABC’s “20/20” performed worse, with 0.4s.)
Fox’s “Friday Night SmackDown” premiered on Oct. 4 to a 1.4 demo rating and 3.888 million total viewers. Simple math tells us that by Week 3, the series has already halved its debut’s big “live” demo rating.
Also Read: Inside Pro Wrestling's Big, Huge TV Push: 3 New Shows, 4 New Networks Across 4 Nights
It was not unexpected that “SmackDown” would slip from Week 1 to Week 2 and then again from Week 2 to Week 3, but the steepness of the trajectory is not what WWE would like to see.
And unfortunately, delayed viewing doesn’t really help a live “sports” show like WWE’s fare. By the time Nielsen’s Live + 3 Day viewing results come out, expect Fox and “SmackDown” to no longer be the gold-medal winners, just like last time.
Read an in-depth analysis of “SmackDown’s” earliest Fox contributions here.
