WWE News: SmackDown Live Rating Up, Tops 18-49 Demographic (10/30/18)

We saw a big drop off in SmackDown Live’s ratings last week from the week previous, however that’s because the blue brand was coming off of the big SmackDown 1000 episode. So could this week be a different tune?

The numbers for last night’s final SmackDown Live before Crown Jewel this Friday are in and we’re heading back upwards with a 2.110, just a 1.1% increase. Here’s a look at the last four weeks of ratings for the blue brand:

• October 9th: 2.135
• October 16th: 2.545
• October 23rd: 2.087
• October 30th: 2.110

While last week’s rating saw a large decrease in viewership, SmackDown Live was still able to vault itself back into the top spot of the Cable Top 150 Rankings for the 18-49 demographic, a position they were able to maintain once again this week. Here’s a look at the top five:

1. SmackDown Live – USA Network – 0.73
2. The Challenge: Final Reckoning – MTV – 0.52
3. Mayans MC – FX – 0.49
4. Below Deck – Bravo – 0.48
5. The Purge – USA Network – 0.37

EA’s Take: The luxury of not having to compete against the NFL on a weekly basis is beginning to show for SmackDown Live and the competition they did have from Major League Baseball is over. Plus, nothing notable in the National Basketball Association which allows the blue brand to coast to the top spot in the 18-49 demographic. It helps when you take your scheduled WWE Title match for pay-per-view this weekend and give it away for free on television, but only to a certain extent as the match was not advertised to take place last night, therefore nobody was specifically tuning in for it until it was already underway. Again, those demo numbers are huge and much like RAW this week, SmackDown Live was able to increase in that department over last week by 0.04. This is where the WWE’s bread is buttered, not with the ratings.

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