WWE SmackDown viewership has once again risen above 2 million as we are now firmly on the road to the Royal Rumble.
The January 8 episode of Friday Night SmackDown was all about setting the stage for the Royal Rumble. The main event would see Adam Pearce be declared the number one contender for Roman Reigns’ WWE Universal Championship in addition to Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler capturing the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship.
According to overnight numbers released by Showbuzz Daily, the January 8 episode of SmackDown averaged 2.003 million viewers, up from the 1.915 million viewers the January 1 episode averaged.
In the 18-49 demographic, the show averaged a 0.5 rating, identical to last week. Between ABC, CBS, CW, FOX, and NBC, SmackDown was bested by Shark Tank as the highest viewed program. SmackDown also fell behind shows such as 20/20 and Magnum P.I. The show also drew a 0.6 rating in the 25-54 demographic.
Hourly Breakdown:
Hour 1: 2.036 million viewers, 0.5 rating in the 18-49 demographic
Hour 2: 1.969 million viewers, 0.5 rating in the 18-49 demographic
Top 5 Most Viewed WWE SmackDown (1/8) Videos On YouTube:
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Adam Pearce – Gauntlet Match Part 5 (698,000 views)
Roman Reigns takes issue with Adam Pearce (482,000 views)
Big E vs. Apollo Crews - Intercontinental Championship Match (374,000 views)
Rey Mysterio vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – Gauntlet Match Part 2 (255,000 views)
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. King Corbin – Gauntlet Match Part 3 (254,000 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.
