Although it failed to match viewership numbers from its debut episode on FOX, SmackDown still had its second-largest viewership of 2019.
According to Showbuzz Daily, the October 11 episode of SmackDown averaged 2.898 million viewers across its two hours. This is significantly down from the 3.869 million viewers the October 4 episode averaged, which was the highest-watched WWE show on U.S. television since Raw back on April 9, 2018 when that show averaged 3.921 million viewers. The October 11 episode was the first night of the 2019 WWE Draft.
In the 18-49 demographic, the show averaged roughly a 0.95 rating across the two hours. Despite it being also much lower than the ratings from the FOX premiere, it was still the highest-rated program in that demographic during primetime hours among ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and CW.
Hourly Breakdown:
Hour 1: 2.925 million viewers, 1.0 rating in the 18-49 demographic
Hour 2: 2.872 million viewers, 0.9 rating in the 18-49 demographic
Top 5 Most Viewed WWE SmackDown (10/11) Videos On YouTube:
Cain Velasquez stares down Brock Lesnar (1.4 million viewers)
Charlotte Flair vs. Bayley (457,000 viewers)
"The Fiend" Bray Wyatt drags Seth Rollins to hell (414,000 viewers)
New-look Bayley destroys the Bayley Buddies (398,000 viewers)
The New Day vs. The O.C. (206,000 viewers)
If you missed anything 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.
