AEW Dynamite: Winter Is Coming Scores Biggest TV Rating Of 2020

Winter Is Coming didn't break 1 million viewers, but AEW won the Wednesday Night War comfortably.

Sting AEW
AEW

All Elite Wrestling’s Winter Is Coming special didn’t hit the 1 million viewers many had pegged it for ahead of the event, but the show came through with an even bigger triumph, noticing a year-high number in the more important 18-49 demographic.

The 0.42 rating that Winter Is Coming came through with was an increase of 38% on the previous week’s 0.26, scoring AEW a handy victory over NXT, which fell from 0.20 to 0.16. It has now been closed to a year since the WWE show has beaten AEW in the Wednesday Night Wars, with their last 18-49 triumph coming on 18 December 2019.

As well as being AEW’s best rating of the year, that 0.42 is the highest Dynamite has hit since 13 November 2019, when it came through with 0.43.

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In terms of overall viewership, Winter Is Coming sparked an increase on the previous week’s final number of 712,000 to improve to 913,000. NXT experienced a slight fall here, going from 712,000 on Thanksgiving eve to 658,000 this week.

Quarter-hour breakdowns are yet to emerge, though it’ll be interesting to see what kind of impact the buzz from Sting’s debut and hype for the Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega match had on AEW in particular.

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Data: PWTorch

Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.