Live sports entertainment continues to be broadcast’s best asset in the fight for viewership as “WWE: Smackdown” took the title in the battle for Friday’s primetime ratings crown. The Fox broadcast jumped from the top rope to deliver the night’s best rating in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic with a 0.5 and 2.1 million total viewers overall.
But while Fox may have claimed the night’s best demo rating, it was once again CBS that earned the most overall viewers thanks to reruns of “S.W.A.T.,” “Magnum P.I.” and “Blue Bloods.” The block of reliable procedurals landed The Eye 2.6 million total average viewers from 8 p.m.