For the third consecutive week, SmackDown's viewership just barely managed to stay above two million viewers.
According to overnight numbers released by Showbuzz Daily, the May 22 episode of SmackDown averaged 2.039 million viewers, down from last week's 2.042 million viewers. The drop in viewership ended two straight weeks of SmackDown's viewership going up for the first time since the February 21 and 28 episodes.
In the 18-49 demographic, the show drew a 0.60 rating, up from last week's 0.55 rating. Between ABC, CBS, CW, FOX and NBC, SmackDown was the highest-rated show on primetime. The show was also tied for the highest rating in the 25-54 demographic with a 0.7 rating among primetime programming on network television.
Hourly Breakdown:
Hour 1: 2.076 million viewers, 0.6 rating in the 18-49 demographic
Hour 2: 2.003 million viewers, 0.6 rating in the 18-49 demographic
Top 5 Most Viewed WWE SmackDown (5/22) Videos On YouTube:
Charlotte Flair vs. Bayley (359,000 viewers)
Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus (308,000 viewers)
AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (287,000 views)
Otis & Mandy Rose vs. Dolph Ziggler & Sonya Deville (280,000)
Braun Strowman vs. The Miz (247,000 views)
If you missed any of the action from SmackDown, check out Fightful’s full report on the show and listen to the post-show podcast for a complete review of all the action.
For a full breakdown on viewership numbers from various wrestling programs, check out Fightful's resources page.
