SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor
Accounting for DVR viewing, the first WWE Raw episode of the “new era” widened its margin over Smackdown in total viewership.
Raw vs. Smackdown Final Viewership Tally
July 25 Raw vs. July 26 Smackdown
Raw added an average of 306,000 viewers in each of its three hours, compared to Smackdown adding 293,000 DVR viewers.
This pushed out Raw to a margin of about 600,000 viewers over Smackdown Live.
For Smackdown, it was an above-average viewership tally. The show averaged 223,000 and 210,000 DVR viewers in the first two quarters of 2016 on Thursday nights.
For Raw, the individual hours fell from the first to third hour. The third hour had the most DVR views, but the gap in real-time, live viewership was too wide to make up the difference…
- First Hour: 3.412 million live / 3.704 million with DVR
- Second Hour: 3.350 million live / 3.647 million with DVR
- Third Hour: 3.254 million live / 3.582 million with DVR
- RAW AVG. SHOW: 3.338 million live / 3.644 million with DVR
- SMACKDOWN: 2.743 million live / 3.036 million with DVR
Smackdown’s total audience of 3.036 million was down about 400,000 viewers (11 percent) from the Live Smackdown/Draft Special on July 19.
If removing the Draft Special, it was the first time Smackdown topped 3.0 million total viewers this year. A few episodes in January fell just below the 3.0 million mark.
WWE Raw vs. Smackdown - TV Ratings & Viewership
| WEEK/ RESULT | DATE | TV RATING | AVG. VIEWERS | AVG. DVR ADDED | AVG. TOTAL AUDIENCE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAW (1-0) SD | 7/25/16 7/26/16 | 2.36 1.92 | 3,338,667 2,743,000 | 306,000 293,000 | 3,664,667 3,036,000 RAW +608,667 |
| RAW (2-0) SD | 8/1/16 8/2/16 | 2.30 1.86 | 3,314,333 2,681,000 | 346,667 275,000 | 3,661,000 2,956,000 RAW +705,000 |
| RAW (3-0) SD | 8/8/16 8/9/16 | 2.05 1.69 | 2,911,000 2,455,000 | 278,667 336,000 | 3,189,667 2,791,000 RAW +398,667 |
| RAW (4-0) SD | 8/15/16 8/16/16 | 2.12 1.72 | 2,915,333 2,471,000 | 319,000 265,000 | 3,234,333 2,736,000 RAW +498,333 |
| RAW (5-0) SD | 8/22/16 8/23/16 | 2.34 1.92 | 3,315,000 2,714,000 | 305,333 339,000 | 3,620,333 3,053,000 RAW +567,333 |
| RAW (6-0) SD | 8/29/16 8/30/16 | 2.38 1.95 | 3,413,000 2,835,000 | 338,667 312,000 | 3,751,667 3,153,000 RAW +598,667 |
| RAW (7-0) SD | 9/5/16 9/6/16 | 2.11 1.76 | 3,069,333 2,454,000 | 365,333 312,000 | 3,434,667 2,766,000 RAW +668,667 |
| RAW (8-0) SD | 9/12/16 9/13/16 | 1.88 1.86 | 2,690,000 2,658,000 | 356,333 336,000 | 3,046,333 2,994,000 RAW +52,333 |
| RAW (9-0) SD | 9/19/16 9/20/16 | 1.97 1.70 | 2,684,333 2,292,000 | 356,000 299,000 | 3,040,333 2,591,000 RAW +449,333 |
WWE Raw Viewership - Brand Split Era (July 25, 2016 Onward)
| WEEK DATE | TV RTNG | FIRST HOUR VIEWERS | SECOND HOUR VIEWERS | THIRD HOUR VIEWERS | TOTAL AVG. VIEWERS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1- 7/25 | 2.36 | 3,412,000 292,000 DVR 3,704,000 | 3,350,000 298,000 DVR 3,648,000 | 3,254,000 328,000 DVR 3,582,000 | 3,338,667 306,000 DVR 3,664,667 |
| 2- 8/1 | 2.30 | 3,463,000 329,000 DVR 3,792,000 (+) | 3,339,000 349,000 DVR 3,748,000 (+) | 3,081,000 362,000 DVR 3,443,000 (-) | 3,314,333 346,667 DVR 3,661,000 (+0.4%) |
| 3 - 8/8 | 2.05 | 2,950,000 251,000 DVR 3,201,000 (-) | 2,974,000 250,000 DVR 3,224,000 (-) | 2,809,000 335,000 DVR 3,144,000 (-) | 2,911,000 278,667 DVR 3,198,667 (-12.9%) |
| 4 - 8/15 | 2.12 | 2,879,000 290,000 DVR 3,169,000 (-) | 3,083,000 331,000 DVR 3,414,000 (+) | 2,784,000 336,000 DVR 3,120,000 (-) | 2,915,333 319,000 DVR 3,234,333 (+1.4%) |
| 5 - 8/22 Post-SSlam | 2.34 | 3,426,000 267,000 DVR 3,729,000 (+) | 3,370,000 293,000 3,663,000 (+) | 3,113,000 356,000 3,469,000 (+) | 3,315,000 305,333 DVR 3,620,333 (+11.9%) |
| 6 - 8/29 Universal Title | 2.38 | 3,392,000 306,000 DVR 3,698,000 (-) | 3,438,000 311,000 DVR 3,749,000 (+) | 3,409,000 399,000 DVR 3,808,000 (+) | 3,413,000 338,667 DVR 3,751,667 (+3.6%) |
| 7 - 9/5 Labor Day | 2.11 | 3,350,000 338,000 DVR 3,688,000 (e) | 3,066,000 352,000 DVR 3,418,000 (-) | 2,792,000 406,000 DVR 3,198,000 (-) | 3,069,333 365,333 DVR 3,434,667 (-8.4%) |
| 8 - 9/12 | 1.88 | 2,833,000 333,000 DVR 3,166,000 | 2,717,000 370,000 DVR 3,087,000 | 2,520,000 366,000 DVR 2,886,000 | 2,690,000 356,333 DVR 3,046,333 (-11.3%) |
| 9 - 9/19 | 1.97 | 2,734,000 321,000 DVR 3,055,000 | 2,686,000 351,000 3,037,000 | 2,633,000 396,000 3,029,000 | 2,684,333 356,000 3,040,333 (-0.2%; even) |
WWE Smackdown Viewership - Brand Split Era (July 26, 2016 Onward)
| WEEK DATE | TV RATING | LIVE VIEWERS | DVR ADDED | TOTAL AUDIENCE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 - 7/26 | 1.92 | 2,743,000 | 293,000 | 3,036,000 |
| 2 - 8/2 | 1.86 | 2,681,000 (-) | 275,000 (-) | 2,956,000 (-2.6%) |
| 3 - 8/9 | 1.69 | 2,455,000 (-) | 336,000 (+) (#2 - 2016) | 2,791,000 (-5.6%) |
| 4 - 8/16 | 1.72 | 2,471,000 (+) | 265,000 (-) | 2,736,000 (-2.0%) |
| 5 - 8/23 Post-SSlam | 1.92 | 2,714,000 (+) | 339,000 (+) | 3,053,000 (+11.6%) |
| 6 - 8/30 | 1.95 (High) | 2,835,000 (+) | 318,000 (-) | 3,153,000 (+3.3%) Peak |
| 7 - 9/6 L. Day Week | 1.76 | 2,454,000 (-) | 312,000 (-) | 2,766,000 (-12.3%) |
| 8 - 9/13 Post-PPV | 1.86 | 2,658,000 (+) | 336,000 (+) | 2,994,000 (+8.2%) |
| 9 - 9/20 | 1.70 | 2,292,000 (-) | 299,000 (-) | 2,591,000 (-13.5%) |
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