Dec. 5 Raw ended with the least viewed hour in show history

First, the good news. Raw’s average hourly rating among 18-49 year olds was up last night (Dec. 5). The .41 was 2.5% better than the previous week’s number.

The bad news is that overall viewership was down 8%, to an hourly average of 1.54 million. All three hours came in lower than their equivalent on the Nov. 28 episode, but it was Raw’s old Achilles heel that really did them in — a shockingly low 10pm ET block. According to Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston, last night’s third hour was the worst in the show’s almost thirty year history.

Hour One: 1.75 million / .44
Hour Two: 1.6 million / .44
Hour Three: 1.26 million / .35

Maybe Triple H and company can blame Tom Brady for some of this? After a dismal performance, the ageless quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccanneers led another amazing comeback, as his team scored 14 fourth quarter points to beat the New Orleans Saints. Could a bunch of the 11 million-plus viewers who watched Monday Night Football on ESPN and ESPN2 this week (the main broadcast was first on all of television with a 2.72 demo rating) have tuned in for the end of the game to see the 45 year legend pull off his latest miracle?

Or were viewers just not hooked by the first two hours of Raw to stick around? Was the second women’s Triple Threat of the night to blame?

Give us your theories below, Cagesiders.

For complete results and this week’s Raw live blog click here. To read a recap & review of the night’s events click here. For video highlights of the show click here.

Numbers via Showbuzz Daily