WWE SmackDown Viewership Is In For 2023 Draft Episode

WWE kicked off the 2023 WWE Draft with a big SmackDown on FOX. There was a lot of anticipation, but how did the viewership turn out?

Spoiler TV reports that the 2023 WWE Draft’s episode on April 28th drew 2.298 million viewers for SmackDown. They also drew a .61 rating in the 18 to 49 demographic.

The April 21st episode of WWE SmackDown brought in an overnight average of 2.133 million viewers, with a .49 in the 18 to 49 demographic.

WWE SmackDown drew a viewership of 2.135 million on April 14th. They also brought in a .53 in the 18 to 49 demographic.

WWE SmackDown drew a fast national number of 2.291 million viewers with the fallout after WrestleMania 39 on April 7th. Of that number, 799k were in the treasured 18 to 49 demographic.

The show averaged 2.389 million viewers, based on 2.364 million viewers for Hour 1 and 2.415 million viewers for Hour 2. That was their go-home episode before WrestleMania 39.

The overnight audience was higher than last week’s show, which averaged 2.121 million viewers. For comparison, the final audience for last week’s show was 2.219 million viewers, so the overnight audience was higher than the final.

WWE SmackDown also topped the primetime network programming in the key demo ratings for Friday, with an average rating of 0.64, up from last week’s overnight rating of 0.53. The final key demo rating for last week was 0.58, so the overnight number was actually higher.

While Blue Bloods on CBS topped the Friday primetime network programming with 5.189 million viewers, it’s still impressive for WWE SmackDown to have strong overnight numbers heading into WrestleMania weekend.

What do you think of the overnight ratings for last night’s WWE SmackDown, and do you think the show’s buildup to WrestleMania 39 has been effective? Leave a comment.