By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

WWE Smackdown on Friday, January 6 scored a 1.80 rating, down more than one-tenth of a rating (six percent) from the previous week and down three-tenths of a rating (19 percent) from a 2.21 rating at the beginning of December. It was the lowest rating since mid-September.

Smackdown averaged 2.58 million viewers, down nine percent from the final Smackdown of 2012 and well-below the fall season range. It was the fewest Smackdown viewers for a non-replay episode since August 5 prior to the first live Tuesday special.

On cable TV Friday night, Smackdown ranked #8 in overall viewers, #5 among males 18-34, and #4 among males 18-49 after dominating most of 2011 in the key male demos.

Smackdown was faced with tough competition ranging from the one-time series finale of "Wizards of Waverly Place" on Disney (nearly 10 million viewers) aimed at younger viewers and Discovery Channel's "Gold Rush" and the Cotton Bowl Classic on Fox aimed at older viewers.

Smackdown taking a hit on both ends of the age range is reflected in Smackdown scoring its lowest non-replay or non-holiday rating among teen males 12-17 and adult males 18-49 since September (14 weeks).

Smackdown fared better in the middle, with males 18-34 & adults 18-34 actually showing minimal increases compared to the previous week.

Last year, Week 1 of Smackdown on January 7, 2011 scored a 1.95 rating and averaged 2.85 million viewers for a heavily-promoted first episode of 2011.

Caldwell's Analysis: Not a good start to 2012, especially with WWE advertising two title matches in advance. WWE messed with the formula of Mark Henry as World champion that was successful during the fall season and the ratings have been inconsistent ever since, although the significant decline for this show can be attributed more to one-time TV competition. So, more time is needed to see if the rating returns to form or if Smackdown struggles to climb back to a 2.0 rating. Overall, though, Daniel Bryan has not been established as a credible World champion/lead figure and the commentary continues to stunt his potential growth.

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