WWE RAW Garners Near-Record Low Audience With NFL Return
Monday's WWE RAW episode, featuring the final hype for WWE Clash of Champions, drew an average of 2.130 million viewers, according to Showbuzz Daily.
This is down 15% from last week's 2.507 million viewers, and the second-lowest non-holiday audience ever, behind the June 10 show that drew 2.125 million viewers.
Last year's RAW episode that went up against the NFL Monday Night Football opener drew 2.74 million viewers, so this show is down 22.26% from last year.
This week's show, featuring the return to Madison Square Garden, featured WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin plus the first-ever King of the Ring Triple Threat and the final build for Sunday's pay-per-view.
For this week's show, the first hour drew 2.362 million viewers (last week's hour 1 – 2.638 million), the second hour drew 2.183 million viewers (last week's hour 2 – 2.557 million) and the final hour drew 1.845 million viewers (last week's hour 3 – 2.326 million). The 22% drop between hour 1 and hour 3 this week is the biggest hour 1 – hour 3 drop since Paul Heyman was hired as the Executive Director of the red brand.
RAW was #11 for the night in viewership on cable, behind the NFL's two Monday Night Football openers on ESPN, Monday Night Kickoff, SportsCenter at midnight, 90 Day Fiance, Very Brady Renovation, The Five, Rachel Maddow Show, Tucker Carlson Tonight, and Hannity. The NFL MNF game between Houston and New Orleans topped the night in viewership and the 18-49 demographic with 13.078 million viewers. The game between Oakland and Denver came in second in viewership and the Cable Top 150 18-49 demographic with 10.619 million viewers. RAW was #5 in the 18-49 demographic on the Cable Top 150 this week, behind the two NFL games, Monday Night Kickoff and SportsCenter.
The Bachelor In Paradise on ABC drew 4.388 million viewers on broadcast TV in the 8pm hour while Lip Sync drew 3.512 million viewers on CBS, American Ninja Warrior drew 4.633 million viewers on NBC, So You Think You Can Dance? drew 1.925 million viewers on Fox and CW's Penn & Teller show drew 1.137 million viewers, all in the 8pm hour on broadcast TV.
Below is our 2019 RAW Viewership Tracker:
January 7 Episode: 2.324 million viewers
January 14 Episode: 2.722 million viewers
January 21 Episode: 2.462 million viewers
January 28 Episode: 2.703 million viewers (post-Royal Rumble episode)
February 4 Episode: 2.510 million viewers
February 11 Episode: 2.462 million viewers
February 18 Episode: 2.771 million viewers (post-Elimination Chamber episode)
February 25 Episode: 2.922 million viewers
March 4 Episode: 2.783 million viewers
March 11 Episode: 2.819 million viewers (post-Fastlane episode)
March 18 Episode: 2.695 million viewers
March 25 Episode: 2.589 million viewers
April 1 Episode: 2.639 million viewers
April 8 Episode: 2.923 million viewers (post-WrestleMania 35 episode)
April 15 Episode: 2.665 million viewers (Superstar Shakeup episode)
April 22 Episode: 2.374 million viewers
April 29 Episode: 2.158 million viewers
May 6 Episode: 2.244 million viewers
May 13 Episode: 2.349 million viewers (taped episode from London)
May 20 Episode: 2.521 million viewers (post-Money In the Bank episode)
May 27 Episode: 2.190 million viewers (Memorial Day episode)
June 3 Episode: 2.405 million viewers
June 10 Episode: 2.125 million viewers (post-Super ShowDown episode)
June 17 Episode: 2.235 million viewers
June 24 Episode: 2.275 (post-Stomping Grounds episode)
July 1 Episode: 2.496 million viewers
July 8 Episode: 2.352 million viewers
July 15 Episode: 2.453 million viewers (post-Extreme Rules episode)
July 22 Episode: 3.093 million viewers (RAW Reunion episode)
July 29 Episode: 2.321 million viewers
August 5 Episode: 2.473 million viewers
August 12 Episode: 2.729 million viewers (post-SummerSlam episode)
August 19 Episode: 2.534 million viewers
August 26 Episode: 2.528 million viewers
September 2 Episode: 2.507 million viewers
September 9 Episode: 2.130 million viewers
September 16 Episode:
2018 Total: 149.628 million viewers over 53 episodes
2018 Average: 2.823 million viewers per episode
2017 Total: 156.971 million viewers over 52 episodes
2017 Average: 3.018 million viewers per episode