While the red side of WWE saw the immediate fallout from Bad Blood on October 7 with "WWE Raw," fans of "WWE SmackDown" had to wait a little longer to see what was in store for Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, The Bloodline and many more on the October 11 episode. It seems fans in the United States were eager to tune in to see the action unfold.
Advertisement
According to "Wrestlenomics," the October 11 episode of "SmackDown" averaged 1,652,000 viewers, up 9 percent from the previous week's 1,519,000 viewers. This figure is also an increase of 5 percent on the trailing four-week average of 1,576,000 viewers, which counts all four episodes of "SmackDown" aired on USA since the move from FOX on September 13. "SmackDown" earned the fourth highest average viewership on cable for Friday night according to "Programming Insider," with the three-hour block of FOX News coverage being the only one to beat it. "SmackDown," though, didn't break into the top ten highest-viewed shows for the evening when including broadcast TV.
There was also an increase in the key 18-49 demographic number as the October 11 episode earned a 0.49, marking a 4 percent increase from the previous week's 0.47, and a 2 percent increase on the trailing four-week average of 0.48. This number led "SmackDown" to rank first for the night on cable for the fourth time in five weeks in the demographic, beating the two college football games that aired on ESPN and FOX Sports 1 respectively.
Advertisement
According to "Programming Insider," 0.49 also put "SmackDown" in third place for the night when including broadcast TV, only being beaten by the Major League Baseball playoff game that aired on FOX, and the post-game breakdown show that aired immediately afterward.
