What’s the story?
As per WrestlingInc, the viewership statistics for Smackdown Live have been released for the final episode before the Royal Rumble. They had 2.556 million viewers this week; which was down 3.6% from the previous week. In regards to where they placed in the overall cable ratings:
Smackdown was #10 in viewership on cable for the night, behind The New Edition Story, Curse of Oak Island, Fixer Upper, The O'Reilly Factor, Tucker Carlson, Hannity, The Five, Special Report and The First 100 Days.
Smackdown was #3 in the 18-49 demographic, behind The New Edition Story and Curse of Oak Island.
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In case you didn’t know...
The December 27th edition of Smackdown Live actually beat Monday Night Raw for the first time in the ratings since the brand split. Though it was a slim margin, it was still a tremendous feat for Smackdown Live.
The heart of the matter...
Smackdown Live overall is in a better place in the ratings than it was last fall when it would regularly dip below two million viewers.
Also read: Best and Worst of Smackdown Live - 24th January 2017
Ever since the 900th episode of Smackdown, where the Undertaker made his return, the ratings have gotten a shot in the arm and have remained around the 2.5 million area since mid-November.
What’s next?
The Royal Rumble is up next this Sunday on the WWE Network. Smackdown Live’s main event at Rumble is for the WWE World Championship where AJ Styles will defend his title against John Cena; who is looking to tie Ric Flair’s record of 16 world championship reigns.
Some of the top Smackdown Live contenders for the Royal Rumble include The Miz, Bray Wyatt, Randy Orton, and potentially the loser of the WWE World Championship match.
Sportskeeda’s take
It is a shame that Smackdown Live is not keeping pace with Monday Night Raw in the ratings because it has been the better show between the two consistently since the brand split.
The storylines, matches and everything overall is much better on Smackdown Live and has been widely acclaimed critically.
The WWE Universe may just be too conditioned to only tune in on Monday nights and that might be enough wrestling viewing for them for the week since there is so much programming within the WWE.
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