WWE Raw viewership down again, but key demo still performs well
After a day's delay, the ratings for this past Monday's edition of WWE RAW have emerged - and they do not make great reading for WWE.
Despite having NXT superstars and Performance Center crew members as "audience members", the Red brand's average rating dropped to 1.735 million, which ranks as the show's second-lowest viewership number in modern history. It should also be noted that this week's show aired on Memorial Day, a public holiday in the USA.
Let's now break down the numbers by the hour. As per Showbuzz, viewership of the first hour was recorded at 1.806 million, with the number dropping to 1.726 million during the second hour and 1.673 million during the third and final hour. The viewership drop from the first to the third hour was barely 0.133 million, which is quite impressive based on the decreases seen in recent weeks.
On average, RAW drew 1.2% less viewers than last week's show (1.757 million). The difference, though, is much larger if you compare the rating with 2019's Memorial Day episode of RAW, which drew 2.190 million viewers. This represents a year-on-year drop of some 21%.
WWE Raw almost sets a new all-time low viewership record despite topping the 18-49 demographic
When it comes to professional wrestling, the 18-49 demographic is of extreme importance. It turns out that the Memorial Day edition of Raw performed pretty well with that particular section of the audience. Monday Night Raw tied for first place in the18-49 demographic with an average rating of 0.51. In terms of cable viewership, RAW ended up in 14th spot overall.
The latest episode of RAW was a noteworthy show for several reasons. Not only did it feature an amazing US Title bout between Andrade and Crews, but it also marked the return of a crowd (in a sense!). Drew McIntyre, Charlotte Flair, Asuka, Bobby Lashley, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, and others also appeared live on RAW - meaning that it was hardly a show which lacked star power.
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