The hype for a new champion and lack of baseball playoff competition helped WWE beat any of the usual drag which comes from broadcasting on tape delay, as their viewership numbers rebounded to 2,603,000 after a rough showing on Halloween.
That was good for eighth best among cable originals.
While it didn’t best SmackDown in audience size, ESPN’s Ric Flair ‘30 for 30’ special did attract 1.83 million viewers, and was a ratings smash. Nature Boy won the night among 18 - 49 year olds at .91, while the blue brand came in third with a .82 share.
Next week features the possibility of a live title change, and the final push to Survivor Series.
While you wonder what kind of a boost that could provide, here’s a rundown of the blue brand’s numbers this year:
Oct. 31 - 2.12 million
Oct. 24 - 2.7 million
Oct. 17 - 2.32 million
Oct. 10 - 2.47 million
Oct. 3 - 2.32 million
Sept. 26 - 2.54 million
Sept. 19 - 2.51 million
Sept. 12 - 2.75 million
Sept. 5 - 2.58 million
Aug. 29 - 2.46 million
Aug. 22 - 2.69 million
Aug. 15 - 2.53 million
Aug. 8 - 2.58 million
Aug. 1 - 2.57 million
July 25 - 2.54 million
July 18 - 2.55 million
July 11 - 2.47 million
July 4 - 2.32 million
June 27 - 2.60 million
June 20 - 2.6 million
June 13 - 2.072 million
June 6 - 2.349 million
May 30 - 2.35 million
May 23 - 2.33 million
May 16 - 2.175 million
May 9 - 2.348 million
May 2 - 2.3 million
April 25 - 2.49 million
April 18 - 2.54 million
April 11 - 3.11 million
April 4 - 2.89 million
March 29 - 2.7 million
March 21 - 2.65 million
March 14 - 2.63 million
March 7 - 2.74 million
Feb. 28 - 2.57 million
Feb. 21 - 2.79 million
Feb. 14 - 2.63 million
Feb. 7 - 2.63 million
Jan. 31 - 2.82 million
Jan. 24 - 2.56 million
Jan. 17 - 2.65 million
Jan. 10 -2.53 million
Jan. 3 - 2.59 million
For complete results and the live blog for SmackDown this week click here. To read a complete recap & review of all the night’s events click here. For a full playlist of the show click here.
Source: Showbuzz Daily