Is the Wednesday Night War starting to hit a groove?
Though both AEW Dynamite and NXT on USA both lost viewers this week, the TNT product still won the night. On the optimistic front, both shows posted small upticks in 18-49 demographic rating points.
Per Showbuzz Daily, Dynamite garnered 940,000 viewers for a .38 ratings point in the all important 18-49 demo. NXT brought in 700,000 viewers for a .21 ratings point in the 18-49 demo.
For Dynamite, it was the first time they posted three consecutive shows over 900K since a four episode run from Oct. 2 through Oct. 24. On the NXT side, this week marked their third worst performance, with only the Oct. 24 and Oct. 30 episodes posting lower live numbers.
Overall, AEW checked in at number five in original cable telecasts while NXT came in at 31st on Wednesday night.
Here’s a breakdown of AEW viewership and rating in the 18-49 demo through 16 weeks:
- Oct. 2: 1.4 million / .68
- Oct. 9: 1.02 million / .46 on TNT, plus 122K from Tru TV simulcast for total viewership of approximately 1.14 million
- Oct. 16: 1.01 million / .44
- Oct 24: 963,000 / .45
- Oct 30: 759,000 / .34
- Nov. 6: 822,000 / .35
- Nov. 13: 957,000 / .43
- Nov. 20: 893,000 / .39
- Nov. 27: 663,000 / .26
- Dec. 4: 851,000 / .32
- Dec. 11: 778,000 / .28
- Dec. 18: 683,000 / .25
- Dec. 25: N/A
- Jan. 1: 967,000 / .36
- Jan. 8: 947,000 / .36
- Jan. 15: 940,000 / .38
Here’s a breakdown of NXT’s audience and ratings share of the same demographic through 18 weeks:
- Sept. 18 (one hour on USA): 1.18 million / .56
- Sept. 25 (one hour on USA): 1.01 million / .40
- Oct. 2: 891,000 / .32
- Oct. 9: 790,000 / .22
- Oct. 16: 712,000 / .20
- Oct. 24: 698,000 / .21
- Oct 30: 580,000 / .18
- Nov. 6: 813,000 / .30
- Nov. 13: 750,000 / .25
- Nov. 20: 916,000 / .30
- Nov. 27: 810,000 / .24
- Dec. 4: 845,000 / .29
- Dec. 11: 778,000 / .24
- Dec. 18: 795,000 / .27
- Dec. 25: 831,000 / .22
- Jan. 1: 548,000 / .15
- Jan. 8: 721,000 / .19
- Jan. 15: 700,000 / .21
Total viewership for Wednesday night checked in at 1,640,000 pro wrestling fans.
With no TakeOver event to build to during Royal Rumble weekend, what can NXT do to close the gap with AEW Dynamite?
Check out both our Dynamite live blog & review and our NXT live blog, review & video highlights, in case you missed any of Wednesday Night War chapter fifteen.