Last Friday’s WWE Smackdown viewership hits 2021 low marks in viewership and key demos, key metrics, monthly averages, year-ago comparison

The July 2 episode of WWE Smackdown on Fox drew 1.861 million viewers, down from 1.964 million viewers the prior week. It was the lowest viewership for Smackdown on Fox this year. The July 2 episode wasn’t technically on a holiday, but the Fourth of July weekend in the United States is considered a “holiday weekend” with a lot of travel and family get-togethers that could have affected viewership.

Only two episodes since the start of May have drawn more than 2 million viewers. The two episodes that drew more than 2 million were special episodes, the “Throwback” episode on May 7 and the Hell in a Cell match on June 18.

Smackdown averaged 2.015 million viewers in May and 1.959 million viewers in June.

Friday’s household rating was 1.19, flat with the prior week, and below the 1.22 two weeks ago.

One year ago, on July 3, Smackdown drew 1.776 million viewers, which was a big drop from the 2.0174 million the prior week. It had drawn more than 2 million viewers seven of the prior eight weeks.

In key demo categories, it drew a 0.46 rating in the 18-49 demo, also a series low on Fox this year, below the 0.54 it drew the previous two weeks. The prior low demo rating was 0.48 on June 11.

In the 18-49 male demo, it drew a 0.49, well below the 0.61 and 0.68 the prior two weeks. It drew a 0.70 back on May 7 for the “Throwback” themed episode.

In the younger 18-34 male demo, it drew a 0.31 rating, down from 0.38 the prior week and 0.45 the week before that. That demo rating was lower – 0.27 – both on May 7 and 14.

The likely loss of Jimmy Uso from the Roman Reigns storyline due to Jimmy Uso’s DUI arrest last week could reshuffle storyline plans for the rest of the summer and into fall with WWE just as they return to performing in front of live crowds a week from Friday in Houston, Tex.

WWE and Fox are likely banking on a surge in viewership due to live crowd’s returning, and anecdotal testimonials for the last 15 months indicate there should be some fans returning to at least sample the product again after taking a break due to the lack of live fans in attendance. WWE also might be planning to bring some big stars back starting as soon as a week from Friday that could also help, such as Becky Lynch or John Cena.