WWE Smackdown Ratings Take Another Slight Dip As March Madness Ramps Up

With NCAA March Madness in full swing, and last Friday showcasing half of the tournament's Sweet 16, "WWE SmackDown" looked to be up against it heading into the evening. As it turns out viewership did take a slight dip compared to March 17's numbers, but only slipped by two percent according to Wrestlenomics, with a solid average of 2,219,000 viewers overall compared to last week's total of 2,258,000. While viewership dropping roughly a week before WrestleMania is not ideal, these numbers don't appear to show anything drastic.

Additionally, viewership among adults that make up the key demo of those aged 18 to 49 was down two percent, per ShowBuzz Daily, reflecting a rating of 0.58 compared to last week's 0.59 — a difference of just 13,000 viewers — from 770,000 viewers on March 17 to 757,000 this past Friday. That said, Friday's edition of "SmackDown" brought in its lowest viewership total since December 16 as well as its lowest P18-49 rating since February 17. Overall, "SmackDown" ranked seventh on television on the day as a whole in the P18-49 demo.

Last Friday saw the furthering of more storylines as we head towards WrestleMania 39, with Rey Mysterio finally accepting the challenge from his son Dominik, two more tag teams being added to the women's Fatal Four-Way Showcase match, The Usos spoiling an edition of "The KO Show" with special guest Sami Zayn, and Cody Rhodes emerging victorious once again as he sets his sights on Roman Reigns and the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. You can view the full slate of results here.