WWE SmackDown Viewership Down For Latest Episode

While it was long considered the B-show compared to "WWE Raw" on Monday nights, "WWE SmackDown" has been the rating powerhouse of WWE since debuting on FOX in 2019. However, that doesn't mean the show is infallible when it comes to ratings. According to Wrestlenomics, Friday night's episode of "SmackDown" earned 2,175,000 average viewers, its lowest number since November and representing a 4% drop in total viewership from last week. The program was also down 7% in the key 18-49 demographic, "SmackDown's" lowest number since January.

While some will be quick to speculate what caused this circumstance and look towards the WWE programming itself, widening one's scope will quickly make the dip in viewership make sense. As the NBA Playoffs continue to take place, this week airing at the same time as the second hour of "Smackdown." luckily for the blue brand, this year's NBA Playoffs don't affect the actual time and placement of "SmackDown" itself, something that the show has had to deal with in the past.

The episode of "SmackDown" in question continued the build toward "WWE Backlash," a Premium Live Event set to take place on May 6 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Beyond having multiple championship bouts and a clash between the Latino World Order and Judgement Day, the main event of the show saw Solo Sikoa defeat Matt Riddle in a No Disqualification match. It also featured back-to-back-to-back tag team matches, a rarity on WWE programming, though the Unified Tag Team Champions, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, were absent.