WWE SmackDown ranked first on cable this past Friday while airing against two college football games.
The September 19 episode from Toledo averaged 1,342,000 viewers and 496,000 viewers (0.37) in the 18-49 demographic on the USA Network.
The viewership grew by 2% from last week, while the audience in the 18-49 demographic was identical.
SmackDown finished first among prime time cable programming ahead of the Tulsa vs. Oklahoma State game on ESPN (1,379,000 viewers and 0.30 in the demo), Game 3 of the New York Liberty vs. Phoenix Mercury playoff game (995,000 and 0.23), and Fox News programming.
The top performer on Friday was the College Football game on Fox between Iowa and Rutgers, which won the night with 2,657,000 viewers and 0.58 in the demo in the slot previously occupied by SmackDown.
SmackDown’s audience in the 18-49 age group was even with the previous week, although there was a difference in the breakdown. Male viewership grew by 14.5% this week to offset a 16% drop among women in the core demographic (its lowest figure in three weeks).
The go-home episode before Wrestlepalooza included a contract signing between Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre, and an advertised appearance by Brock Lesnar.
Data: Programming Insider & Wrestlenomics
