Originally published at "WrestleMania SmackDown" draws big number, highest of the year in Canada
The special edition of WrestleMania SmackDown led to the show seeing a significant increase in viewership and their highest demo figure since September.
The April 1st episode from the American Airlines Center in Dallas averaged 2,359,000 viewers and approximately 799,000 (0.61) in the 18-49 demographic, per Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics and Showbuzz Daily.
WWE Smackdown on Fox on Friday:
2,359,000 viewers
P18-49: 0.61 (799k)AEW Rampage on TNT:
456,000
P18-49: 0.15 (193k)Smackdown’s highest since September 10.
Rampage up from last week’s low.
Charts and more info later.https://t.co/1SscdBCpr8
— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) April 4, 2022
It was the show’s best viewership since January 2021 and their highest 18-49 audience since last September for the episode at Madison Square Garden.
The show increased eight percent in viewers with a huge 25 percent jump in its 18-49 demo while also increasing 40 percent among adults 35-49 and a 30 percent spike in males 18-49.
It was clear that adding the branding of “WrestleMania” helped Raw and SmackDown go into the two-night event this past weekend. Friday’s episode also featured the annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and Ricochet defending the Intercontinental title against Humberto and Angel.
SmackDown was first among network programming on Friday night in 18-49 and 18-34 while the cable chart was led by the NCAA women’s basketball tournament with its final four airing on ESPN.
In Canada, SmackDown did a huge number with 247,200 viewers and 106,200 in the 25-54 demographic on Sportsnet 360. It is easily SmackDown’s highest viewership of the year. We have a handful of weeks without the numbers, but this is likely the highest number for the program since May of last year in the country. It was fourth for the night among sports programs in the country behind the Toronto Raptors vs. Orlando Magic, a FIFA soccer game, and an NHL game.