WWE Smackdown Ratings Report (3/8): Smackdown tops 2.4 million, but despite Rock & Reigns interacting with Cody & Seth, it ranked no. 6 so far this year

Last Friday’s (3/8) episode of WWE Smackdown on Fox broadcast network averaged 2.439 million viewers, up from 2.348 million the prior week. It was the seventh time in ten weeks so far this year Smackdown has topped 2.4 million viewers. Last year through ten weeks, Smackdown topped 2.4 million four times. It was the sixth highest viewership out of the first ten weeks.

The episode was build around The Rock and Roman Reigns interacting with Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins over Rock’s challenge to a tag team match between them on night one of WrestleMania with special stipulations. The Rock appearing on Smackdown consistently makes a positive impact on viewership, but not by much more than Smackdown’s top ratings one year ago.

Through ten weeks, Smackdown’s average viewership is 2.493 million. Through ten weeks last year, it was 2.380 million. Two years ago, it averaged 2.207 million through ten weeks.

In the key 18-49 demo, it drew a 0.69 rating, up from 0.64 and 0.62 the prior weeks. The ten week average is 0.68. One year ago, through ten weeks, it averaged a 0.60 rating. Two years ago, it averaged a 0.57 rating.

So Smackdown is performing well compared to the last two years during the same time period. Rock’s involvement certainly is responsible for some of the increase in viewership, although the difference isn’t huge given Rock’s overall stature and what expectations might have been going into this stretch of him central to a key storyline going into WrestleMania.