SmackDown's one-week move to FS1 yielded the show's lowest viewership ever for the show.
According to Showbuzz Daily, the October 25 episode of SmackDown only averaged 888,000 viewers, nearly a third of what it did the week prior on FOX (more than 2.4 million viewers) and by far the lowest viewership in the show's history. For this past week only, SmackDown was moved from FOX to FS1 due to FOX's coverage of the MLB World Series between the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals. SmackDown will return to FOX for the November 1 show.
In the 18-49 demographic, the show produced a 0.27 rating, which makes it the ninth highest-rated show on cable for the day. The broadcast also had to compete with the Dallas Mavericks vs. New Orleans Pelicans NBA game on ESPN, which averaged 1.103 million viewers and a 0.44 rating in the 18-49 demographic.
In other ratings notes, the latest preview episode of WWE Backstage that dropped after SmackDown ended averaged 426,000 viewers and a 0.14 rating in the 18-49 demographic, good for 42nd on cable for the day. A replay of the most recent episode of AEW Dynamite did not crack the top 150 in ratings in the aforementioned demo.
Top 5 Most Viewed WWE SmackDown (10/25) Videos On YouTube:
Brock Lesnar delivers a surprise to Cain Velasquez and Rey Mysterio (2.5 million viewers)
Roman Reigns, Ali & Shorty G vs. King Corbin, Shinsuke Nakamura & Cesaro (1.1 million viewers)
The Beast Incarnate ambushes Cain Velasquez and the Mysterios (831,000 viewers)
Team Hogan and Team Flair rivalry heats up on "Miz TV" (770,000 viewers)
Bray Wyatt resurrects Rambling Rabbit on "Firefly Fun House" (427,000 viewers)
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.
