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When SmackDown moved to Thursday nights, it was a calculated strategy to increase viewership for WWE's secondary television program. Then, the decision was made to move the show from SyFy to the USA Network starting this year. There were also rumors of better creative, bigger match-ups, and an increased emphasis on promotion.
None of that really came to fruition but there were solid early returns anyway:
Jan. 7: 2.75 million
Jan. 14: 2.33 million
Jan. 21: 2.75 million
Jan. 28: 2.72 million
To the surprise of no one, the show has slowly but surely returned to viewership totals not unlike what the blue brand was drawing before switching networks.
Feb. 25: 2.39 million
Mar. 3: 2.49 million
Mar. 10: 2.18 million
Mar. 17: 2.26 million
It's a shame, really, considering SmackDown has been a far better show than Monday Night Raw. Then again, viewers for the flagship show aren't doing all that much better.
Get a complete recap of this latest episode here.