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Not surprisingly, it helps WWE when there isn’t major sporting competition going up against its programming. That was the case this week with SmackDown Live avoiding both the NBA and NHL Playoffs and seeing a slight bump in viewership.
Emphasis on slight.
Indeed, this week’s episode — which was all about finding a top contender for Naomi’s SmackDown women’s championship but instead led to booking a women’s Money in the Bank match — garnered 2.35 million viewers. That’s up from last week’s 2.33 million.
That’s still down a bit from the average this year but it could certainly be worse, all things considered.
Here’s a rundown of the blue brand’s audiences this year:
May 23 - 2.33 million
May 16 - 2.175 million
May 9 - 2.348 million
May 2 - 2.3 million
April 25 - 2.49 million
April 18 - 2.54 million
April 11 - 3.11 million
April 4 - 2.89 million
March 29 - 2.7 million
March 21 - 2.65 million
March 14 - 2.63 million
March 7 - 2.74 million
February 28 - 2.57 million
Feb. 21 - 2.79 million
Feb. 14 - 2.63 million
Feb. 7 - 2.63 million
Jan. 31 - 2.82 million
Jan. 24 - 2.56 million
Jan. 17 - 2.65 million
Jan. 10 -2.53 million
Jan. 3 - 2.59 million
For complete results and the live blog for SmackDown this week click here. To read a complete recap & review of all the night’s events click here. For a full playlist of the show click here.