The WWE RAW ratings are in for December 14, and the show's numbers were up in a huge way following the TLC PPV event. WWE did play their ratings trump card of switching the World Heavyweight title and the always viewers-grabbing return of Vince McMahon but it worked, at least for Monday's show. The first hour topped 4 million viewers for the first time since July. Viewers also stuck around more so than they have in recent weeks, with the third hour of the show actually not drawing the lowest viewership of the night (as had been the trend in recent weeks). The strong third hour viewership is obviously a sign that viewers kept watching to see how things would play out with the return of Vince McMahon and the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match that closed the show. Additionally, the third hour was up nearly 1 million viewers from last week's third hour of RAW. WWE has to be ecstatic with the massive turnaround in fortunes in Roman Reigns. Fans were clearly intrigued by the way the PPV ended with Reigns attacking Triple H in violent fashion, and the outstanding triple thread ladder match may have also been responsible for some of the intrigue heading into Monday's show. Reigns actually feels over for the first time since The Shield split. Cable's biggest ratings on Monday night, as usual, were for Monday Night Football, though the game drew approximately 2.5 million less viewers than last week's (December 7) match-up. This was largely due to a weak game featuring two losing teams, the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins. The drop in viewership for football is obviously another reason why WWE's ratings went up, as they certainly gained some of the football audience. The hourly breakdown for the show was as follows:
First Hour: 4.043 million viewers (3.27 million last week) Second Hour: 3.786 million viewers (3.042 million last week) Third Hour: 3.825 million viewers (2.85 million last week)
The average viewership for the show comes in at 3.885 million viewers. This number is up over 800,000 viewers from last week's average of 3.054 million viewers and is the most viewed episode of RAW since August 31st. In the coveted 18-49 age group demographic, RAW was the fourth most watched show on cable television Monday night. It trailed ESPN's Monday Night Football, Love And Hip Hop, and Sportscenter.
