Raw had one of its smallest audiences ever, still had the second highest rating on TV

Raw missed the NBA Playoffs this week, and WWE actually only has one more night of guaranteed competition from them left on the schedule (Game 4 of Celtics/Warriors will air against the June 10 SmackDown). But there was a compelling live sports option running against them on May 30, and it was a national holiday.

That combination contributed to the show getting one historically bad number, but the overall picture wasn’t that bad

Raw had an average audience of 1.50 million and a .42 rating among 18-49 year olds on Memorial Day. That viewership number is the second-lowest ever when Raw is in its regular time slot on USA. But the rating is actually up 2% from last week. What’s more, with the broadcast channels mostly airing reruns, WWE had the second highest rated show on all of television Monday night. It trailed only Game 7 of the New York Rangers/Carolina Hurricanes NHL series on ESPN, which got 2.79 million viewers and a .90 in the demo.

Here’s the hourly break down for total viewers and 18-49:

Hour One: 1.50 million / .43
Hour Two: 1.59 million / .44
Hour Three: 1.40 million / .40

It looks bad, but it’s probably not worth sweating. In addition to the good news about its place relative to everything else on TV, Memorial Day is always rough for Raw. Last year’s show brought historically bad numbers, too.

Next week is a Hell in a Cell fallout episode, and the hockey playoff that night won’t be do or die for both teams, neither of which plays in NYC.

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