AEW Dynamite Ratings Report: Younger demo drops again, data for Darby’s first title defense, 10-week averages, comparison to prior years

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Last Wednesday night’s (4/22) episode of AEW Dynamite on TBS averaged 617,000 viewers, compared to 746,000 the prior week and the 654,000 the week before that. The ten-week average is 684,000. The sharp increase on Apr. 15 came after the PPV and with an advertised MJF vs. Darby Allin main event for the AEW World Title. The younger demos didn’t jump, though.

(*Note: Additional viewers watch AEW Dynamite on Max streaming service as of Jan. 1, 2025, and those viewers are not part of the TBS data. That data is not made available. Also, Nielsen Media Research changed their methodology for their ratings estimates in the fall of this year and then again at the end of January 2026, so comparing current data to data before that can misrepresent viewership trends.)

One year ago this week, Dynamite drew 521,000 viewers. The ten-week rolling average a year ago was 611,000.

Two years ago this week, Dynamite drew 683,000. Then ten-week rolling average was 779,000.

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In the key 18-49 demo, it drew a 0.10 rating (142,000 viewers), compared to 0.13 (173,000) and 0.14 (192,000) the prior two weeks. The ten-week rolling average is 0.12.

One year ago, it drew a a 0.14 rating with a ten-week rolling average of 0.16.

Two years ago, it drew a 0.23 rating with a ten-week rolling average of 0.27.

The trend the last four weeks has been downward, especially in the male 18-49 demo, going from 198,000 viewers on Apr. 1 to 192,000 on Apr. 8, 173,000 on Apr. 15, and 142,000 on Apr. 22 (with corresponding demo ratings of 0.20, 018, 0.16, and 0.13). It’s not clear what about AEW’s programming would be causing the drop, but it does correspondent to Darby Allin being positioned as the top babyface. Although the peak ratings were for Jericho’s first two weeks back, the prior week was nearly equally strong. It’s the last two weeks where there’s been a dropoff. The likeliest explanation is the start of NHL and NBA playoffs pulling viewers away. There was a dropoff last year during this same period, but not as steep.

The announced matches and segments were…

Darby Allin vs. “Psycho Killer” Tommaso Ciampa – AEW World Championship match
Mina Shirakawa vs. Hikaru Shida
Will Ospreay vs. Mark Davis
Darby Allin to speak

OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: Jake Hager wins Power Slam debuts, says “F— you, Tony Khan” afterward

(You can always reach PWTorch editor Wade Keller at kellerwade@gmail.com. You can also send live event results and news tips to pwtorch@gmail.com. Also, we’re always looking for volunteer contributors to help us round out of coverage of the pro wrestling scene.)

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