Edge’s first match on television since 2011 saw RAW receive an increase in the third hour while finishing on top of the cable charts Monday.
Coming off the Royal Rumble, the show averaged 1,892,000 viewers and a 0.58 in the 18-49 demographic. Viewership was up by 4 percent and the demo increased by 11.5 percent from last week. Neither figure came close to Legends’ Night on January 4th, but it was RAW’s third-best demo performance of 2021.
The main attraction was Edge wrestling on television for the first time since March 2011 after it was announced in the first hour that he would have one more match with Randy Orton.
With the first hour averaging 1,981,000 and a 0.61 18-49 rating, it fell to 1,885,000 and a 0.55 in the second hour, and the third hour averaged 1,811,000 and 0.57. The audience fell 8.5 percent throughout the show and 6.5 percent in the 18-49 demo.
Edge vs. Randy Orton did work in increasing several categories in the final hour. Adults 18-34 grew by 9 percent in the third hour and men 12-34 increased by 7 percent in the last hour. The only audience that had a large decline was women 18-49 falling by 22 percent in the last hour.
Compared with last week’s figures, most of their key demos saw increases led by women 12-34 up by 24 percent, women 18-49 improved by 14 percent, and men 12-34 were up by 13 percent. The only audience that decreased this week were adults over 50, which dropped by 4.5 percent and fell 10 percent throughout the show.
Going against less sports competition, RAW the most-watched sports program of the night in Canada. The show averaged 292,500 on Sportsnet 360, beating out two NHL games with Montreal vs. Vancouver on TSN2 and Calgary vs. Winnipeg on TSN3. A note for clarification is that both NHL games also aired on separate regional feeds. If you break down the airings by the network, RAW would be #1 but the combined audience for each NHL game was higher than RAW if you include the regional numbers. The Montreal vs. Vancouver game aired regionally on Sportsnet West, while Calgary vs. Winnipeg aired on Sportsnet Pacific.
Compared to last year’s RAW following the Royal Rumble, this year’s show was down 21 percent in viewers, a decrease of 23.7 percent in the 18-49 demographic, and fell by 33 percent in their 18-34 demo.
Here is a breakdown of the demographics:
ADULTS 18-49
This week: 0.58 (+11.5 percent)
Hour 1-3: -6.5 percent
FEMALES 18-49
This week: 0.41 (+14 percent)
Hour 1-3: -22 percent
MALES 18-49
This week: 0.74 (+10 percent)
Hour 1-3: +2.5 percent
ADULTS 18-34
This week: 0.33 (+6.5 percent)
Hour 1-3: +9 percent
FEMALES 12-34
This week: 0.26 (+24 percent)
Hour 1-3: Even
MALES 12-34
This week: 0.43 (+13 percent)
Hour 1-3: +7 percent
ADULTS 25-54
This week: 0.71 (+11 percent)
Hour 1-3: -8 percent
ADULTS 50+
This week: 0.84 (-4.5 percent)
Hour 1-3: -10 percent
