The second night of the NFL Draft affected the ratings for last week’s episode of WWE SmackDown, which featured the inaugural night of the 2024 WWE Draft.
WWE SmackDown drew a 0.58 rating in the key 18 – 49 demographic and 2.143 million viewers, which reflects a decline of 7.9% and 8.1%, respectively, from the previous week’s 0.63 demo rating and an audience of 2.333 million.
The April 26th episode marked the show’s lowest point since December 22nd, 2023, when it received a 0.55 demo rating and 2.108 million viewers.
The December 29th, 2023, episode had a 0.28 demo rating and 1.355 million viewers, but it was a “Best Of 2023” compilation.
Notably, WWE SmackDown went up against night two of the NFL Draft, which aired on ABC and ESPN simultaneously. Although the ESPN numbers are yet to come in, the ABC simulcast drew a 0.61 demo rating and 2.69 million viewers. Most of the viewership for the first night of the NFL Draft was on ESPN.
So far in 2024, WWE SmackDown is averaging a 0.674 demo rating and 2.397 million viewers, compared to a 0.606 demo rating and 2.354 million for the same period last year.