WWE News: SmackDown Live Rating Decreases, Stays On Top Of Rankings (8/28/18)

After last week’s episodes of RAW and SmackDown Live following SummerSlam saw ratings increases, this week’s edition of Monday Night RAW started to go back in the other direction. Could the same be said for last night’s SmackDown?

With the ratings now in, SmackDown Live came in with a 2.35, a 3.6% drop from last week’s post-SummerSlam edition. Here’s how the last four weeks of ratings look for the blue brand:

• August 7th: 2.197
• August 14th: 2.189
• August 21st: 2.437
• August 28th: 2.350

Much like RAW this week with a decrease in ratings, SmackDown Live was still able to maintain its position atop of the Cable Top 150 Rankings for the 18-49 demographic, marking five straight weeks at number one:

1. SmackDown Live – USA Network – 0.75
2. Below Deck Mediterranean – Bravo – 0.50
3. The Challenge: Final Reckoning – MTV – 0.47
4. Deadliest Catch – Discovery – 0.44
5. Haves & The Have Nots – Oprah – 0.42

EA’s Take: Some strikingly similar numbers for both RAW and SmackDown Live this week if you consider that the red brand’s average is always higher than the blue brand. I often find myself wondering what exactly makes that difference since it’s widely considered among wrestling fans that SmackDown Live is the better show overall. So for that, I’d point back to what I brought up a couple of weeks ago and that’s star power at the top. RAW has Roman (shut up, he’s the top guy in the company), Ronda Rousey and Brock Lesnar (despite his few-and-far between appearances). These people are number drivers. Not to mention when Cena was around, he was basically a RAW Superstar even though WWE referred to him as a “free agent”. SmackDown has nobody like that. Yes, you have your Randy Orton’s, AJ Styles’, Daniel Bryan’s…but these guys aren’t mainstream stars. If they were, don’t you think SmackDown Live’s ratings would be comparable to RAW? I guess you could argue that WWE puts less stock into RAW, but again I’d come back with, “It’s consistently the better show”. Plus, the blue brand doesn’t face the same competition as RAW being on Monday nights.

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