WWE Smackdown Viewership & Ratings Report: 10/10/25
Throughout the last two weeks, viewership for professional wrestling has significantly decreased after Nielsen introduced its new "Big Data + Panel" model, which aims to deliver more accurate information for cable and broadcast ratings going forward. Last week, "SmackDown" was heavily affected by the change, as the show drew one of its lowest viewership figures in history outside of a few pre-empted episodes that were televised on FS1. Therefore, with this past Friday's show streaming internationally on Netflix before broadcasting on the USA Network due to WWE being in Perth, Australia, it was expected that the blue brand might reach an even lower number with many viewers knowing results ahead of time online. Luckily for WWE, "SmackDown" didn't fall beneath the 1 million viewer threshold, but failed to improve its numbers following last week's disappointing totals.
According to Wrestlenomics and Programming Insider, "SmackDown" averaged 1,025,000 viewers and posted an 0.22 rating in the key 18-49 demographic. When comparing both categories to the week prior, total viewership was nearly identical, while the 18-49 demo slightly decreased by 4%. Additionally, "SmackDown's" numbers have continued to drop over the past year since moving to the USA Network, with total viewership declining by 31% and the 18-49 demo being down by a whopping 51% since October 2024. Despite being affected by Nielsen's new system and airing earlier in the day internationally, "SmackDown" still managed to rank fifth on the night in the key demographic on cable.
"SmackDown" also faced stiff competition on Friday night, with the historic 15-inning MLB American League Division Series game between the Detroit Tigers and the Seattle Mariners pulling in 8 million viewers, and the WNBA Finals ranking second on cable in the 18-49 demo. Moving forward, it remains to be seen if the "Big Data + Panel" measurement continues to negatively affect "SmackDown," or if viewership will slowly improve with Survivor Series on the horizon.