WWE SmackDown Viewership & Ratings Report, 5/3/2024

It was a week to forget in the ratings for "WWE SmackDown" on April 27, as the show drew its lowest ratings in the last several months while going up against the NFL Draft, NBA Playoffs, and the NHL Playoffs. With the NFL Draft now out of the picture, many looked to this Friday's "SmackDown" to see if the show could recover viewership, even with the NBA and NHL still lurking about.

For this week, the recovery was minimal. Wrestlenomics and Programming Insider report that Friday's "SmackDown" drew 2.148 million viewers, along with 0.60 in the ever-important 18-49 demographic. While total viewership was up 5K viewers from last week, percentage-wise "SmackDown" showed no gain or decrease, while 18-49 was slightly up, rising 3% from 0.58. Overall, both numbers continued the slide over 4 weeks, down 10% and 12% in both categories respectively. Nevertheless, "SmackDown" was #1 for the night in 18-49, beating "Fire Country" by a considerable margin.

While cable numbers aren't yet available, it's likely "SmackDown" was once again hurt by playoff competition. The show went head-to-head against two Game 6's in both the NBA and NHL Playoffs, with the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Orlando Magic game airing on ESPN, while the Vancouver Canucks vs. Nashville Predators aired on TNT.

"SmackDown" took place in Lyon, France, and served as the go-home episode for Backlash, which took place a day later, also in Lyon. The show featured Grayson Waller and Austin Theory successfully defending the WWE Tag Team Championships over the Street Profits, while Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes closed the show by going face to face with AJ Styles, only 24 hours before Rhodes defeated Styles at Backlash.