SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
AEW drew its largest live and same-night viewership on TNT since the Jan. 1 episode with 995,000 viewers last night (12/9). It also finished no. 2 overall in the key 18-49 demographic with a 0.45. Only “Challenge: Double Agent” on MTV outdrew them in the key demo with a 0.51 rating, although it had fewer viewers at 900,000. There were 26 shows in the top 50 that drew more viewers than Dynamite overall, although they were primarily news-channel shows drawing an older demographic less coveted by advertisers.
The viewership surge is a big endorsement of the move to bring in Sting last week and sign him to a long term deal. Having Sting indicate last night he’s got a secret agenda and will be a regular part of the show should hold onto viewers who turned in this week to see him. The Kenny Omega heel turn also may have captured some viewers who weren’t yet sold on his role in AEW; being a top heel paired with manager/advisor Don Callis could have sparked interest.
Keep in mind, also, that while Impact benefited from AEW’s plug and special Kenny Omega appearance on Tuesday night, drawing 220,000 viewers, well above the 147,000 average of the prior four weeks, AEW could have converted some Impact loyalists to give AEW a try. It’s not unreasonable to think that 50,000 out of the 150,000 typical Impact viewers weren’t die-hard regular Dynamite viewers, and they might have been enticed to give it a shot this week, intrigued by the Omega & Callis pairing not to mention curiosity to see if the Tony Khan & Tony Schiavone segment indicated a promotional war was imminent.
Although Sting is certainly of interest to the 50+ age demo that watched him in the 1990s in WCW, the 50+ demo for AEW went from 0.27 last week t 0.29 this week, so the increase in AEW viewership wasn’t drawn from an older age group. They also drew an 0.27 rating on Nov. 18. Fans who grew up as kids and teenagers watching Sting at his peak during the Monday Nitro era are in the core 18-49 demo, and that’s probably where most if his interest comes from.
Since AEW averages over 1 million weekly viewers after seven days of delayed views are added up, it’ll be interesting to see if the increase in viewership on Wednesday night cuts into the seven-day growth total, which would mean of the same people are just watching live instead of on delay, which would indicate AEW isn’t ultimately gaining that many new viewers. That data will be available in a week or two. It’s likely a mix of both – new viewers and some usually delayed viewers watching live instead.
NXT drew 659,000 total viewers and finished no. 37 in the key 18-49 demo, not atypical for the show. Its average viewership since Sept. 16 has been 680,000. (The prior our weeks, NXT and AEW didn’t go head-to-head. Their average viewership for 2020 up until the timeslot shifts for four weeks was 691,000.)
At this rate, will WWE and USA Network consider moving NXT to Tuesday or Thursday nights instead, where it wouldn’t have to face the competition from AEW? If that move were to be made, it would likely lead to increased NXT viewership, but also more growth from AEW as certainly there are some viewers who like both companies, and for whatever reason, choose to watch NXT on Wednesday nights and AEW on delay, or switch back and forth throughout the two hours, cutting into the average per-minute viewers that factors into the ratings numbers.
We’ll have more key metrics later, so check back.
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