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WWE was trending up on Tuesday nights the past couple of weeks, with SmackDown LIVE delivering some of its best numbers since WrestleMania 35 and the Superstar Shake-up.
But on July 30, Team Blue ran into the field of candidates looking to represent a different blue brand in the 2020 U.S. Presidential race. And a stage full of politicians snapped SmackDown’s two week streak of audience gains.
Viewership was back under two million last night. The 1,911,000 who tuned in was roughly a quarter million fewer than watched the week prior. The competition was a big part of the story, of course. CNN pulled between 6 - 8 million viewers while the Democratic debate in Detroit was airing against SmackDown. All 11 of the cable original programs which had bigger audiences than WWE on July 30 were focused on politics.
CNN debate coverage also topped the demographic ratings. SmackDown’s .57 among 18-49 year olds was the fourth best number on cable, and down from the past couple weeks.
Given the competition (and we haven’t even mentioned Shark Week, which WWE outperformed), it’s difficult to read too much into an episode Eric Bischoff was Executive Director of, and that Vince McMahon allegedly had re-written late in the afternoon. But we know things will be read into the numbers. Whether you choose to or not, here’s a list of the blue brand’s from the past six months:
July 23 - 2.16 / .65
July 16 - 2.12 / .65
July 9 - 1.85 million / .53
July 2 - 1.89 / .56
June 25 - 1.92 / .62
June 18 - 1.86 / .56
June 11 - 1.93 million / .60
June 4 - 2.02 / .60
May 28 - 2.07 / .69
May 21 - 1.98 / .61
May 14 - 1.83 / .56
May 7 - 1.93 / .58
April 30 - 1.83 / .54
April 23 - 2.07 / .71
April 16 - 2.22 / .74
April 9 - 2.2 / .78
April 2 - 2.14 / .71
Mar. 26 - 2.39 / .79
Mar. 19 - 2.21 / .74
Mar. 12 - 2.2 / .71
Mar. 5 - 2.16 / .7
Feb. 26 - 2.15 / .76
Feb. 19 - 2.27 / .75
Feb. 12 - 2.03 / .66
Feb. 5 - 1.84 / .64
Jan. 29 - 2.14 / .7
Jan. 22 - 2.14 / .69
Jan. 15 - 2.14 / .7
Jan. 8 - 2.03 million / .72
Jan. 1 - 2.09 million / .68
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.
Source: Showbuzz Daily