Monday Night Football’s Stellar Performance Overshadows Raw’s Ratings

WWE Raw faced a challenging night as it went head-to-head with the opening night of Monday Night Football, which pulled in record-breaking viewership numbers.

The NFL game between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets, which extended into overtime, amassed a staggering 22,615,000 viewers across ESPN, ABC, and ESPN2. This impressive figure marked the second-largest audience for Monday Night Football in recent years.

In contrast, Raw experienced a significant dip, recording its lowest viewership in its nearly 31-year history for a regular episode on the USA Network. The show managed to attract only 1.35 million viewers, accompanied by a 0.40 rating in the 18-49 demographic. Raw’s only episode with lower viewership was a “Best Of” special.

This 0.40 rating also stands as Raw’s second-lowest of the year.

While the NFL’s massive viewership is the primary reason for Raw’s decline, the episode itself needed a significant draw. Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Rodriguez was the sole major match announced in advance, and the episode wasn’t following a PPV event.

Raw’s viewership plummeted by 21 percent compared to the previous week, with a 22 percent drop in the 18-49 demographic and a 26 percent decrease in the 18-34 age group.

Year-over-year, Raw’s viewership was down by 21 percent from the 2022 Monday Night Football opener, which had 19.76 million viewers. The show experienced an 8 percent decline in the 18-49 demographic and a 22 percent drop in the 18-34 age bracket. Adjusting for the loss of cable homes, the actual percentage drops are 16 percent in viewership, a 1 percent rise in the 18-49 demographic, and a 14 percent decline in the 18-34 group.

Despite the overall decline, the third-hour drop was consistent with typical weeks. However, the main event’s 1.25 million audience was marked the show’s lowest.

The hourly breakdown was as follows:
– 8 p.m.: 1.37 million viewers
– 9 p.m.: 1.40 million viewers
– 10 p.m.: 1.29 million viewers