This week's edition of WWE SmackDown on the USA Network (the fifth episode since moving to the channel) experienced a drop in television viewership as compared to last week's show. The February 4th broadcast totaled 2.664 million viewers, down slightly from last week's 2.720 viewers. The viewership totals for SmackDown since moving to USA are as follows: January 7th: 2.757 million viewers January 14th: 2.332 million viewers January 21st: 2.757 million viewers January 28th: 2.720 million viewers February 4th: 2.664 million viewers Despite the slightly drop this week, the viewership is roughly in-line with what the show has been drawing of late. WWE has been attempting to get the show over as "must see" once again following years of ignoring SmackDown's importance, but the new marketing push has not resulted in increased viewership. SmackDown is still viewed by far less viewers than RAW, even though it is now airing on the same network. SmackDown was headlined by a tag team match pitting Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose against Alberto Del Rio and Rusev. It was one of the few main events since SmackDown moved to USA that actually ended with a finish, as Reigns pinned Del Rio. SmackDown finished the night with the third highest viewership of any cable television program. The Democratic Debate on MSNBC placed first, followed by the O'Reilly Factor on Fox News. That said, SmackDown actually finished in first place in the 18-49 age group demographic. WWE will attempt to bump their rating next week by booking Brock Lesnar for the show; Brock's first appearance on SmackDown in over a decade.
