Let The Comparisons Begin. SmackDown On FOX’s Ratings And Audience Numbers Do Very Well.

I’d call that a hit. On Friday night, WWE presented its first episode of SmackDown on FOX, which was quite possibly the biggest opportunity that the company has ever had. The show was going to be airing on broadcast television, offering a gigantic platform for their product. There had been a ton of advertising and now the question was how many people would watch. Now we know the answer.

According to Showbuzz Daily, SmackDown drew 3.869 million viewers, smashing both the final episode on USA (2.099 million) and this week’s Monday Night Raw (2.571 million). The show also won the night in the 18-49 demographic with a 1.35 rating. SmackDown was fourth in total viewership on Friday night, finishing just behind the Blacklist for third (3.965 million).

There was a lot going on with the show. Check out the best moments:

Opinion: Well I’d say that’s a success. Now what matters most is maintaining (or even growing) those numbers, which is often the hardest part. A lot of fans were probably giving the show a try and the question is can the company keep them around. That is a lot harder than getting them there in the first place, especially now that they won’t have the legends around to draw in extra viewers.

Did you like last night’s show? How many viewers will next week have? Let us know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30 wrestling books. His latest book is KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews.

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