WWE SmackDown viewership increased on August 22.
According to Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics, 2.084 million viewers watched the show on Friday. This number is up from last week, when 1.927 million viewers tuned in.
In the 18 to 49 demographic, SmackDown scored a 0.47 rating, which is also up from last week (0.44 rating). SmackDown ranked first overall in the demographic on Friday night.
Smackdown was preempted in markets incl Charlotte, New Orleans, San Diego, and St. Louis. About 5% of TV homes. Last week it was preempted in about 12%.
Rampage ranked #28 when including broadcast primetime and down from last week's 0.17.
? Full report: https://t.co/qDsA1LSNIf pic.twitter.com/XVbp5EKL2I
— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) August 22, 2022
Thurston noted that Friday’s episode, like last week, was preempted in some markets due to NFL preseason games. He wrote that, on August 19, approximately 5% of homes were affected.
This week’s episode featured the continuation of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Tournament as Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne faced Natalya and Sonya Deville. Plus, Sheamus, Sami Zayn, Happy Corbin, Madcap Moss, and Ricochet faced off in match to determine Gunther’s challenger for the WWE Intercontinental Championship at Clash at the Castle. In the show-closing segment, Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns had a face-to-face confrontation with Drew McIntyre.
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