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Smackdown Ratings Drop Due to NBA Finals, Trump Coronavirus Angle

With the eyes of America glued to the television to watch the ongoing trainwreck at the coronavirus hot spot known as The White House, and with the NBA finals happening besides, Smackdown dropped slightly in ratings and viewership but, under the circumstances, actually performed pretty well and managed to keep viewership above 2 million people.

The official logo for WWE Friday Night Smackdown.
The official logo for WWE Friday Night Smackdown.

WWE Smackdown Ratings Down Slightly with Competition

Smackdown drew an average of 2.043 million viewers last night. The first hour drew 2.105 million viewers while the second hour drew 1.980 million. That's down from last week's total, but not by much. An average of 2.11 million viewers watched Smackdown last week.

In the 18-49 demographic, Smackdown also saw a slight increase, falling below a .6 for the first time in a while with a .55 average. The first hour earned a .6 while the second hour earned a .5. That put Smackdown fifth for the night behind Game 2 of the NBA finals between the LA Lakers and Miami Heat, as well as the special Jimmy Kimmel Live episode that aired right before the game.

Not included on Showbuzz Daily's Network Scorecard are the cable numbers, which should be available later. However, it's safe to assume that cable news did massive numbers with ongoing live coverage of President Donald Trump's coronavirus struggle.

The Bottom Line 'Cause Chad Said So

Normally, The Chadster would be pretty upset to see Smackdown lose ground, but this case is a little bit different. After all, President Donald Trump is a WWE Hall-of-Famer, so it makes sense that wrestling fans would be interested in this whole COVID-19 angle. That being said, the feud between Trump and coronavirus is getting a lot of TV time every day, so by next week, people may want a break and will probably tune in to see Sasha vs. Bayley and the WWE draft. I explained all of this to Keighleyanne, and she gave me a hand gesture that said my idea was number one.


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Chad McMahonAbout Chad McMahon

Chad McMahon, otherwise known as The Chadster, is a lifelong professional wrestling fan and now journalist. Chad’s interests also include comic books, movies, netflix, and other sports including football, baseball and basketball, both college and professional. Chad drives a Miata and is married to Keighleyanne. He loves WWE with all his heart and soul.
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