WWE SmackDown Final Viewership Down From Last Week, SmackDown Tops All Three Demos

Friday's live edition of WWE SmackDown drew an average of 2.084 million viewers on FOX, according to Nielsen, via Showbuzz Daily.

This final number is down 16.60% from the overnight viewership that was released on Saturday morning, which was an average of 2.499 million viewers. This number is also down 3.91% from last week's final SmackDown viewership of 2.169 million viewers.

Friday's SmackDown drew a 0.58 rating in the key 18-49 demographic. This is down 4.91% from last week's 0.61 rating. That 0.58 rating represents 746,000 viewers in the 18-49 key demographic, which is down 5.80% from the 792,000 18-49 viewers from last week, according to Wrestlenomics.

SmackDown ranked #1 in ratings for the key 18-49 demographic on network TV. SmackDown also ranked #1 in the 18-34 demo this week, and #1 in the 25-54 demo. SmackDown came in at #5 for the night in viewership on network TV. 20/20 on ABC topped the night on network TV in viewership this week with 2.723 million viewers.

Viewership for Friday's SmackDown episode was up 4.01% from the same week in 2020, while Friday's 18-49 key demo rating was down 3.33% from the same week in 2020.

The NFL Pre-season game between Buffalo and Detroit topped the night on the Cable Top 150 with a 0.37 rating in the 18-49 key demo, drawing just 1.299 million viewers. Tucker Carlson Tonight on FOX News topped the night in cable viewership with 2.599 million viewers, ranking #8 on the Cable Top 150 with a 0.18 rating in the key demo.

As noted, Friday's AEW Rampage premiere on TNT averaged 740,000 viewers on cable at 10pm ET, after SmackDown went off the air. You can click here for that report.

Friday's SmackDown from the BOK Center in Tulsa had just a few happenings advertised ahead of time – Apollo Crews dropping the WWE Intercontinental Title to King Shinsuke Nakamura, John Cena and WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns meeting face-to-face to hype their SummerSlam main event, and the SummerSlam contract signing for Sasha Banks vs. SmackDown Women's Champion Bianca Belair, which was the show-closing segment.

Stay tuned for more ratings data. Below is our 2021 SmackDown Viewership Tracker, along with the Top 10 moments from Friday's show:

January 1 Episode: 2.013 million viewers with a 0.53 rating in the 18-49 demographic (New Year's episode)
January 8 Episode: 2.120 million viewers with a 0.56 rating in the 18-49 demographic
January 15 Episode: 2.262 million viewers with a 0.67 rating in the 18-49 demographic
January 22 Episode: 2.383 million viewers with a 0.63 rating in the 18-49 demographic
January 29 Episode: 2.304 million viewers with a 0.62 rating in the 18-49 demographic
February 5 Episode: 2.257 million viewers with a 0.65 rating in the 18-49 demographic (post-Royal Rumble episode)
February 12 Episode: 1.990 million viewers with a 0.57 rating in the 18-49 demographic
February 19 Episode: 2.217 million viewers with a 0.59 rating in the 18-49 demographic
February 26 Episode: 2.145 million viewers with a 0.54 rating in the 18-49 demographic (post-Elimination Chamber episode)
March 5 Episode: 2.252 million viewers with a 0.60 rating in the 18-49 demographic
March 12 Episode: 2.171 million viewers with a 0.61 rating in the 18-49 demographic
March 19 Episode: 2.093 million viewers with a 0.57 rating in the 18-49 demographic
March 26 Episode: 2.191 million viewers with a 0.57 rating in the 18-49 demographic (post-Fastlane episode)
April 2 Episode: 2.137 million viewers with a 0.57 rating in the 18-49 demographic
April 9 Episode: 2.250 million viewers with a 0.61 rating in the 18-49 demographic
April 16 Episode: 2.119 million viewers with a 0.56 rating in the 18-49 demographic (post-WrestleMania 37 episode)
April 23 Episode: 2.121 million viewers with a 0.54 rating in the 18-49 demographic
April 30 Episode: 2.018 million viewers with a 0.49 rating in the 18-49 demographic
May 7 Episode: 2.282 million viewers with a 0.65 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Throwback episode)
May 14 Episode: 1.917 million viewers with a 0.44 rating in the 18-49 demographic
May 21 Episode: 1.933 million viewers with a 0.50 rating in the 18-49 demographic (post-WrestleMania Backlash episode)
May 28 Episode: 1.928 million viewers with a 0.50 rating in the 18-49 demographic
June 4 Episode: 1.883 million viewers with a 0.50 rating in the 18-49 demographic
June 11 Episode: 1.944 million viewers with a 0.48 rating in the 18-49 demographic
June 18 Episode: 2.045 million viewers with a 0.54 rating in the 18-49 demographic
June 25 Episode: 1.971 million viewers with a 0.54 rating in the 18-49 demographic (post-Hell In a Cell episode)
July 2 Episode: 1.861 million viewers with a 0.46 rating in the 18-49 demographic
July 9 Episode: 1.986 million viewers with a 0.48 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Final ThunderDome era)
July 16 Episode: 2.310 million viewers with a 0.66 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Return to the road episode)
July 23 Episode: 2.137 million viewers with a 0.55 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Post-Money In the Bank episode)
July 30 Episode: 2.043 million viewers with a 0.57 rating in the 18-49 demographic
August 6 Episode: 2.169 million viewers with a 0.61 rating in the 18-49 demographic
August 13 Episode: 2.084 million viewers with a 0.58 rating in the 18-49 demographic
August 20 Episode:

2020 Total: 113.372 million viewers
2020 Average: 2.180 million viewers per episode (2 FS1 airings)

2019 Total: 112.530 million viewers
2019 Average: 2.164 million viewers per episode (1 FS1 airing)

2018 Total: 122.304 million viewers
2018 Average: 2.352 million viewers per episode

2017 Total: 132.401 million viewers
2017 Average: 2.546 million viewers per episode