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What's the story?
Monday Night Raw's viewership has generated low numbers in recent weeks, but this week's episode hit an all-time low record.
The July 9 edition of Raw averaged 2.470 million viewers, the lowest viewership average in the history of the program.
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In case you didn't know...
The show kicked off with Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley brawling in and out of the ring and featured Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre in the main event.
Other big moments from the show were the continuation of Sasha Banks and Bayley counselling segments and the reveal of Ronda Rousey as an additional pre-order bonus for WWE 2K19.
The heart of the matter
The following is the hourly breakdown of the July 9 edition of Raw:
Hour one: 2.582 million
Hour two: 2.508 million
Hour three: 2.320 million
Despite the lack of competition, the viewership for this week's show set the new record for the lowest viewed Raw in the history of its broadcast.
The previous record for the lowest viewed Raw episode took place on September 26, 2016 - an episode up against Monday Night Football and the U.S. Presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
Raw was second in the ratings Monday night but faced no significant competition from cable and national broadcasts.
What's next?
Raw's viewership has always had a history of decreasing just before a pay-per-view, but to do so while setting an all-time low record says a lot about the current state of the product.
The post-Extreme Rules episode will more than likely get a bump in viewers, but their decline in ratings is astonishing considering how much money they secured during their TV contract negotiations with NBC Universal.
Given the trend in numbers for the show, Raw could see an even bigger decline once Football season resumes.
What do you think Raw should do to improve their viewership ratings? Tell us in the comments below!
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