Originally published at https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/03/10/wwe-raw-hurt-by-first-hour-posts-second-lowest-number-of-2020/
Photo courtesy: WWE
Monday’s episode of WWE Raw saw a disappointing level of viewership but had the silver-lining of holding onto the audience throughout all three hours.
The three-hour episode averaged 2,163,000 viewers, which is their second-lowest number of 2020 and down 4% from last week.
On the surface, it’s a letdown given the week-long promotion of Edge’s return to the show for the first time since the injury angle on January 27th with Randy Orton.
The first hour did 2,157,000 viewers and increased 3% in the second hour to 2,222,000 before dipping 5% in the third hour to 2,109,000 viewers. It’s a trend that has been emerging over the past month where the second hour has either grown or dropped slightly with less of a third-hour tune out.
That said, this week’s number had one of the lowest opening hours in the history of the show, far fewer people are tuning in, although those viewers are sticking around at a larger percentage and the show isn’t turning them off.
The first to third-hour fluctuations were minimal. Among those 12-34, and adults 18-34, the third hour grew in those demos. The losses in the third hour were low with adults over 50 only falling 3% and that was the largest drop among the key demos.
In the 18-49 demographic, Raw did a 0.69 down 7% from last week, although Raw was still #1 on cable Monday night.
The biggest increase was among females 12-34 which jumped 12.5% from last week while the other demos were down. The declines were led by males 12-34 dropping 10%.
Next week’s episode has been heavily advertised with Steve Austin’s return and The Undertaker’s contract signing with AJ Styles. The last time Austin appeared was on September 9th of last year with the show doing 2,130,000 viewers against the first Monday Night Football game of the season that did over thirteen million viewers.
The year-to-year comparison was a drastic drop of 23% with the March 11, 2019, episode following the ‘Fast Lane’ pay-per-view averaging 2,818,000 viewers featuring a face-off between Triple H and Dave Bautista.
Here are the key demos from Monday and the comparison of the first hour with the third.
ADULTS 18-49
This week: 0.69 (-7%)
Hour 1-3: Even
FEMALES 18-49
This week: 0.49 (-4%)
Hour 1-3: -2%
MALES 18-49
This week: 0.90 (-6%)
Hour 1-3: +2%
ADULTS 18-34
This week: 0.51 (-5.5%)
Hour 1-3: +4%
FEMALES 12-34
This week: 0.36 (+12.5%)
Hour 1-3: +9%
MALES 12-34
This week: 0.55 (-10%)
Hour 1-3: +4%
ADULTS 25-54
This week: 0.83 (-3.5%)
Hour 1-3: -1%
ADULTS OVER 50
This week: 1.00 (-4%)
Hour 1-3: -3%
