SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor
Accounting for DVR viewing, the second WWE Raw episode of the “new era” widened its margin over Smackdown in total viewership.
Raw vs. Smackdown Final Viewership Tally
August 1 Raw vs. August 2 Smackdown
– Week 2 of WWE Raw actually outdrew Week 1 when accounting for DVR viewership…
Raw started with an average of 3.314 million first-run viewers, down from 3.338 million in Week 1.
Raw added an average of 346,667 DVR viewers in each of its three hours, up from 306,000 last week.
This pushed the total audience of Week 2 to 3.661 million viewers, just edging out the total audience of 3.644 million viewers for Week 1.
– Week 2 of WWE Smackdown went the opposite direction.
Smackdown started with 2.681 million first-run viewers, down from 2.743 million in Week 1.
Smackdown then added 275,000 DVR viewers, down from 293,000 last week.
This created a total audience of 2.956 million viewers, down 2.6 percent from 3.036 million in Week 1.
– Raw vs. Smackdown: Raw’s total audience was 3.661 million viewers vs. Smackdown’s total audience of 2.956 million viewers, a difference of about 700,000 viewers. Last week’s margin was about 600,000 viewers.
Individual Hours
- First Hour Raw: 3.463 million live / 3.792 million with DVR (#1)
- Second Hour Raw: 3.399 million live / 3.748 million with DVR (#2)
- Third Hour Raw: 3.081 million live / 3.443 million with DVR (#3)
- RAW AVG. SHOW: 3.314 million live / 3.661 million with DVR (+0.4% vs. LW)
The increase in Raw’s total viewership came from First and Second Hour DVR viewership, which outdrew Week 1. The third hour got a slight DVR bump from last week, but it was not enough to make up for poor live viewership.
- SMACKDOWN: 2.681 million live / 2.956 million with DVR (-2.6% vs. LW)
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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