WWE SmackDown Garners Their Best Audience On FS1

Friday's live WWE SmackDown drew an average of 1.032 million viewers on FS1, according to Nielsen, via Showbuzz Daily.

This final number is down 54.11% from last week's final viewership of 2.249 viewers for the post-Crown Jewel show, but that was for the normal timeslot on network TV. For the last FS1 episode, this is up 19.17% from the 866,000 viewers that the Supersized episode drew on October 15.

Friday's SmackDown drew a 0.29 rating in the key 18-49 demographic. This is down 50% from last week's 0.58 rating, but for the regular FOX episode that aired on network TV. For the last FS1 episode, this is up 20.83% from the 0.24 that the Supersized episode drew on October 15. This week's 0.29 key demo rating represents 373,000 18-49 viewers, which is up 18.79% from the 314,000 18-49 viewers that the 0.24 key demo rating the FS1 Supersized episode drew on October 15, according to Wrestlenomics.

SmackDown ranked #3 on the Cable Top 150 for the night with the 0.29 key demo rating, which is equal with what the last FS1 episode did on October 15. SmackDown ranked #24 for the night on cable in viewership, which is up from the #32 ranking that the last FS1 episode did on October 15.

This is the best SmackDown on FS1 viewership out of five episodes since 2019. This is also the second-best key demo rating for a FS1 airing, behind the 0.30 rating the show did on December 18, 2020. To compare, the last SmackDown episode to air on FS1 was the Supersized show on October 15, which drew 866,000 viewers with a 0.24 key demo rating. Before that, the December 18, 2020 TLC go-home show aired on FS1 and drew 1.030 million viewers with a 0.30 rating in the 18-49 demographic. The October 23, 2020 Hell In a Cell go-home show also aired on FS1, against the MLB World Series, drawing 881,000 viewers with a 0.25 rating in the 18-49 demo. The October 25, 2019 SmackDown also aired on FS1, and drew 888,000 viewers with a 0.27 rating.

Friday's SmackDown had competition from the MLB World Series and the NBA but drew a strong number for FS1. The last time SmackDown aired against the World Series was the aforementioned October 23, 2020 episode on FS1, which drew 881,000 viewers with a 0.25 key demo rating. The year before that, the October 25, 2019 episode went against the World Series and drew 888,000 viewers with a 0.27 rating. Friday's viewership was up 19.17% from the last FS1 episode, while the key demo rating was up 20.83% from the last FS1 episode.

The NBA game between Hornets and the Heat on ESPN topped the night on the Cable Top 150 with a 0.39 key demo rating, drawing just 1.008 million viewers. The Five on FOX News topped the night on cable in viewership with 3.193 million viewers, ranking #9 on the Cable Top 150 with a 0.19 key demo rating.

The MLB World Series game on FOX topped the night on network TV in viewership with an average of 11.232 million viewers. Game 5 of the World Series also topped the night on network TV in the 18-49 key demo with a 2.41 rating.

Viewership for Friday's SmackDown episode was down 54.85% from the same week in 2020 for the post-Hell In a Cell episode, while Friday's 18-49 key demo rating was down 58.57% from the same week in 2020. This not significant as the 2020 episode aired on FOX in the regular timeslot.

Friday's live SmackDown from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre, PA had just one match advertised ahead of time – Rick Boogs and WWE Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Happy Baron Corbin and Madcap Moss in a Trick or Street Fight. The main event ended up being The New Day defeating SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos in a non-title match.

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: 2.102 million viewers with a 0.57 rating in the 18-49 demographic
August 27 Episode: 2.250 million viewers with a 0.59 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Post-SummerSlam episode)
September 3 Episode: 2.220 million viewers with a 0.62 rating in the 18-49 demographic
September 10 Episode: 2.383 million viewers with a 0.65 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Super SmackDown episode)
September 17 Episode: 2.243 million viewers with a 0.58 rating in the 18-49 demographic
September 24 Episode: 2.135 million viewers with a 0.55 rating in the 18-49 demographic
October 1 Episode: 2.252 million viewers with a 0.62 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Draft Night 1 post-Extreme Rules episode)
October 8 Episode: 2.147 million viewers with a 0.52 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Season premiere episode)
October 15 Episode: 866,000 viewers with a 0.24 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Supersized episode on cable FS1)
October 22 Episode: 2.249 million viewers with a 0.58 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Post-Crown Jewel episode)
October 29 Episode: 1.032 million viewers with a 0.29 rating in the 18-49 demographic (FS1 episode)
November 5 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