Audience numbers reportedly down for WWE SmackDown
New reports seem to confirm that ratings for WWE SmackDown have again fallen.
This week's episode of SmackDown featured a main event that saw Drew McIntyre team up with The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) to take on Sheamus, Ridge Holland, and Butch. It also featured a face-off between Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos and Shinsuke Nakamura and Riddle, with a subsequent brawl. Also on the card was Ronda Rousey vs. Raquel Rodriguez in a championship contenders match and a KO Show featuring Sami Zayn.
According to ShowBuzz Daily, SmackDown has seen yet another drop in ratings. It drew around 1.87 million viewers and 0.43 in the key 18-49 demographic. The viewership was down 8% from the previous week's figure, whereas the key demo number saw a 4% fall.
Smackdown was outranked by Celtics-Heat (2.41 P18-49 rating, 7.2 million viewers), the Avalanche-Blues NHL game (0.55) and two telecasts of Sportscenter after the NBA game. https://t.co/WqpBu3RD4i
This drop, however, can be explained by the show going head-to-head with a hockey game between the Colorado Avalanche and the St. Louis Blues. It also competed against an NBA game between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat.
What's on the card for the next WWE SmackDown?
The next episode of SmackDown is broadcast from The Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio, on June 3.
The Bloodline, along with Riddle and Shinsuke Nakamura, are all confirmed to be a part of the show. As well as Madcap Moss and Happy Corbin.
Get ready for a thrilling #SmackDown this Friday at 8/7c on FOX! https://t.co/On1gVRDgjr
The show will be the final episode of SmackDown before WWE's upcoming Hell In A Cell premium live event. However, the event will exclusively feature RAW branded matches.
It'll be interesting to see if WWE can bring the ratings back up for SmackDown. You can read more about WWE SmackDown by clicking here.