WWE SmackDown Falls To Lowest Ratings Of 2024 For Draft Episode
WWE's "neck and neck" talk a convenient distraction from SmackDown's worst numbers of 2024.
WWE SmackDown fell to its lowest ratings of 2024 for last Friday's special Draft episode.
Per Sports Media Watch, SmackDown drew an average of 2.143 million P2+ viewers across its two hours on FOX on Friday, 26 April. The episode's 0.58 P18-49 rating was enough to finish second on the night amongst all television shows, outdone by 2024 NFL Draft coverage on ABC, which hit a 0.61 rating.
SmackDown's total viewership was down 13.3% from the previous year, with the 18-49 rating dropping 13.4%. With viewership dropping 8.1% and P18-49 down 7.9% week over week, SmackDown hit its lowest numbers since the 22 December 2023 episode.
As is always the case at this time of year, SmackDown faced stiff competition not only from the NFL Draft, but also the NBA Playoffs, and Stanley Cup coverage. Nonetheless, these 2024 lows belie last week's claim that WWE's first 2024 Draft show had gone 'neck and neck' with the NFL.
Night 1 of the 2024 #WWEDraft versus ABC’s coverage of the NFL Draft:
AdvertisementWWE Draft on FOX: Average Viewers P18-49 (000): 679K (#2)P18-49 Rating: 0.5 NFL Draft on ABC:0.5682K Average ViewersNeck and Neck. pic.twitter.com/5I3nPp0wbp
— Alfred Konuwa (@ThisIsNasty) April 27, 2024
While it's true that the NFL and WWE Drafts posted similar P18-49 numbers on ABC and FOX respectively, this barely paints a fraction of the true picture.
SmackDown airs exclusively on FOX, meaning the numbers reported above truly reflect how many people watched the show. The NFL Draft, meanwhile, went out on ABC, ESPN, and the NFL Network. Given that Sports Media Watch reports P18-49 ratings of 0.51 and 0.25 for the NFL Draft on ESPN and the NFL Network respectively - on top of the ABC figures - those 'neck and neck' claims are a little wide of the mark.
And that's being charitable.