NXT on USA eeks out rare viewership win last week against AEW Dynamite, illustrative of differences in viewing habits of different demographics

By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor


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Last week on the night before Thanksgiving, NXT on USA scored a rare viewership victory over AEW Dynamite on TNT, 712,000 to 700,000 in live and same-night viewership, although NXT got a boost from having a short overrun that tipped it over AEW in total viewers. NXT drew a 0.53 rating compared to AEW’s 0.49 rating. AEW viewership was down 142,000 from the prior week; NXT was up 72,000 from the prior week.

NXT still dominated in the male 18-34 rating by a 0.21 to 0.08 margin, but that margin of less than three-to-one shrunk compared to the prior week’s four-to-one margin of 0.28 to 0.07. In the main 18-49 demographic, AEW won by a 0.26 to 0.20 margin, but that was well below the 0.37 to 0.14 margin the prior week.

AEW finished no. 7 among all cable shows on Wednesday night in the 18-49 demographic, with four CNN programs, a Hallmark Channel movie, and a Real Housewives episode on Bravo ahead of it. NXT finished at no. 25, higher than usual for the program.

Just as happened last year, NXT held steady on Thanksgiving eve while AEW lost a lot of viewers. It’s indicative, perhaps, of AEW’s younger audience being more likely to travel or have their scheduled disrupted due to holiday plans, where NXT’s audience is less likely to travel or change viewing habits.

Nonetheless, tonight’s battle is likely to be among the biggest margins of victory yet for AEW Dynamite, with their “Winter is Coming” theme show headlined by Jon Moxley defending the AEW Title against Kenny Omega, plus a strong undercard. AEW could top 1 million same night viewers, although anything above 900,000 would be a “win” compared to recent viewership numbers.


RECOMMENDED: Raw Rating: Details on hourly viewership, hourly dropoff, Monday Night Football comparison, overall ranking, year ago rating

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