By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Friday Night Smackdown delivered 2.899 million viewers for Fox, according to the overnight numbers listed by Showbuzzdaily.com. The number was down from the 3.869 million viewers who watched last week’s premiere on Fox. The first hour delivered 2.925 million viewers, while the second hour produced 2.872 million viewers.
Powell’s POV: Smackdown was dominant in the male 18-49 demographic over all other network shows, but the loss of nearly one million viewers has to sting, especially since last night’s show featured the first night of the draft. It makes you wonder what the numbers will look like starting next week when they don’t have any big name appearances or big themes advertised. The final numbers for last night’s show will be available on Monday.
One million drop in viewers? Wow. The superstars can give a performance of a lifetime but character is what entices the audience to watch. Nobody is ‘cool’ to watch. Bailey showed some ‘coolness’ last night. We need more of that. New viewers are probably thinking this is freaking silly, and that’s what turns people off.
I actually predicted that this would happen last week. I expect to drop next week as well. Fox should have done their research before taking on a company that has had a decrease in rating every year for the past 19 years. There’s nothing exciting at all in wrestling to grab the casual viewers.