SmackDown’s TV numbers rise for third straight week

These are baby steps, but WWE and Fox will surely take progress in whatever increments it comes in these days.

For the third Friday in a row, the Aug. 14 SmackDown had a bigger audience than the week before. At 1.98 million, its streak with average viewership across both hours below two million is at seven weeks. But the show’s second hour did cross that threshold for the first time since June 26.

Ratings were the same or slightly better in all categories. By adding enough 18 - 34 year olds to hit a .3, SmackDown won the night outright in that demo for Fox.

The show also outperformed AEW Dynamite among 18 - 49 year olds by .18 ratings points, so we’re saved from any gloating from the Demo God for a few more days.

Here are the fast nationals:

Showbuzz Daily

And here’s our running tracker of every other episode since WWE moved to Fridays last fall (all data via Showbuzz Daily):

It’s the SummerSlam go home next Friday, and possibly the start of new look shows from Amway Center. Will it have the impact Vince McMahon hopes it will on the numbers? We shall see.

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.