Viewership and demo up as WWE holds strong against college basketball
Summary
– April 4 episode of SmackDown drew 1.578 million viewers
– Show ranked fourth on cable behind NCAA Women’s Final Four
– CM Punk and Kevin Owens segments drove strong online engagement
The April 4 episode of WWE SmackDown saw an increase in both viewership and demo ratings, even while facing major sports competition from the NCAA Women’s Final Four.
SmackDown averaged 1.578 million viewers, up from 1.35 million the previous week. The 18-49 demographic also saw improvement, rising to a 0.47 rating from 0.40. That night, the show scored fourth in cable ratings, trailing only NCAA coverage on ESPN and associated studio programming.
High-profile segments drove strong performances. CM Punk’s confrontation with Roman Reigns, where he cashed in a favor and put Reigns to sleep, reached 2.8 million views on YouTube. The announcement that Kevin Owens would miss WrestleMania due to a neck injury also pulled significant numbers, drawing over 1 million views online.
Despite heavy sports competition, WWE’s blue brand maintained momentum heading into WrestleMania weekend.
