AEW Collision Ratings Show 16% Gains From Delayed Viewing In First Two Weeks

Since the recently launched "AEW Collision" airs on Saturday nights, conventional wisdom suggested that whatever the live plus same-day ratings were, they would likely see a substantial increase when factoring in delayed viewing via DVR and on-demand. Though it doesn't add much when it comes to the primary function of TV ratings, determining a given program's ad rates, as DVR users tend to skip commercial breaks, the total viewership including delayed viewing still has utility for a wrestling promotion to gauge overall popularity.

Case in point: The ratings decline for "AEW Rampage" isn't quite as stark if you consider that, per a recent "Wrestling Observer Radio," its viewership increases by about 50 percent adding delayed viewing, a stark contrast to the 15 to 20 percent range that "AEW Dynamite," "WWE Raw," and "WWE SmackDown" hover around. According to a report from Pro Wrestling Torch on Thursday, though, at least for its first two episodes, "Collision" has seen a delayed viewing increase closer to "Dynamite's" range.

The June 17 debut episode, which averaged 816,000 viewers live/same day, added 120,000 viewers after three days (to 936,000), with another 16,000 viewers being added to the total after seven days passed, for a total of 952,000 viewers, increasing the audience by about 17 percent. By comparison, that week's "Dynamite" on June 14 increased its total by about 16 percent after seven days. As for the second "Collision" on June 24, the live plus same-day count of 595,000 added 97,000 viewers after three days for a total of 692,000, a 16 percent increase. That week's "Dynamite" increased by 10 percent after the same three-day window. For a one-to-one comparison with the previous week, the premiere had gained 15 percent after three days, compared to 12 percent for that week's "Dynamite" by the same metric. It remains to be seen how the delayed viewing figures will impact last week's "Collision," which fell to "Rampage" levels in live plus same day viewing.