Originally published at SmackDown's 18-49 audience drops to 2022 against NCAA basketball
With a competitive night involving the NCAA basketball tournament, Friday Night SmackDown saw its key demo audience take a big fall.
The March 25th edition of the show from Brooklyn averaged 2,180,000 viewers and approximately 638,000 (0.49) in the 18-49 demographic, per Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics and Showbuzz Daily.
WWE Smackdown, Friday on Fox, 8-10pm:
2,180,000 viewers
P18-49: 0.49 (638,000)AEW Rampage on TNT, 10-11pm:
425,000 viewers
P18-49: 0.14 (182,000)đź“Š More demos & analysis: https://t.co/1SscdBCpr8 pic.twitter.com/l32ZslHJVM
— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) March 28, 2022
The overall audience for SmackDown was not affected and increased slightly from last week’s number. The 18-49 audience fell by 15.5 percent this week and was one of the lowest demo figures since the return of live fans last summer.
If you exclude the episode of SmackDown that aired on Christmas Eve and the episodes that ran on FS 1, it was the show’s lowest 18-49 audience since July 9, 2021, which was the last week inside the ThunderDome.
SmackDown finished behind CBS’s coverage of the NCAA men’s tournament and tied with ABC’s Shark Tank in the 18-49 demo.
The NCAA games dominated the night with the early game on CBS averaging 10,181,000 and 2.26 in 18-49 from 7-9:30 p.m. ET. The tournament also led cable for the night with games airing on TBS with SmackDown going against the Providence vs. Kansas game that averaged 2,645,000 and 0.71 in the demo.
In Canada, SmackDown averaged 165,500 viewers and 62,300 in the 25-54 demo on Sportsnet 360. The viewership increased by 13 percent while the demo dropped 11.5 percent from last week.
This Friday’s episode is billed as “WrestleMania SmackDown” from the American Airlines Center in Dallas featuring the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and Intercontinental title match on the eve of WrestleMania.
