NXT was struck badly this past Tuesday, airing against the NBA doubleheader on NBC.
The October 21 episode of NXT averaged 525,000 viewers and 95,000 (0.07) in the 18-49 demographic on CW, reflecting the lowest figures the show has ever had since premiering on CW over one year ago.
The 24% drop in overall viewership was the show’s lowest since the 4th of July in 2023, when it was airing on the USA Network. The 18-49 audience dropped by a staggering 42% from last week and was the lowest audience in the demo in the show’s history.
In the core demo, males dropped from 101,000 viewers last week to 61,000, and females declined from 60,000 to 40,000.
Adults 18-34 continue to decline as it fell from a 0.05 rating last week to 0.04.
The NBA kicked off its season with a doubleheader on NBC & Peacock and marking the return of the league to the network. NXT aired against the earlier game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets, which averaged 5.9 million viewers across both platforms. It’s worth noting that 5,096,000 viewers were the average on NBC, and the streaming audience accounted for 13.6% of the overall viewership from Peacock.
NXT returned to its live format this past Tuesday after a taped edition on October 14. This week’s show featured Jacy Jayne & Lainey Reid against Tatum Paxley & Izzi Dame, and a contract signing involving Ricky Saints and Trick Williams before Halloween Havoc.
Data: Programming Insider, Wrestlenomics & NBC
