WWE Raw Ratings Hold Steady For 'In Your Face' Special
Raw fared better than expected against NFL competition.
The NFL's long-awaited return meant this week's WWE Raw could have been a ratings disaster, though the loaded 'In Your Face' card helped the red brand to a steady week against Monday Night Football.
Raw came through with an average viewership of 1.69 million across its three hours. This is down 2% on the previous week's 1.73 million and breaks down as follows:-
Hour one: 1.81 million viewers
Hour two: 1.73 million viewers
Hour three: 1.53 million viewers
The drop-off between hours one and two is standard, but steeper between hours two and three, potentially due to the Tennessee Titans vs. Denver Broncos NFL game starting at 10pm.
As far as the key 18-49 demographic goes, WWE posted an increase on the previous week's 0.48 rating, hitting 0.50. Each of Raw's three hours finished in the top 10 for the night.
Loading the show with the In Your Face theme, a Raw Women's Title match, Keith Lee vs. Drew McIntyre, and the Dominik Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins cage match appears to have paid off, preventing the show from potentially hitting an all-time low. It should be noted that the competition's numbers were way down on last year, with the first NFL game plummeting by 28% in the demo.
Data: Showbuzz Daily