WWE Raw ratings up, averages two million viewers
Raw did another big number last night from Toronto, averaging 2.01 million viewers and drawing a 0.55 rating in the 18-49 demo.
The show did a great job with the male audience in particular, with hour three with Edge vs. Damian Priest actually beating hour one in ages 12-49.
Raw placed second on cable to an Atlanta Falcons vs. New York Jets preseason football game at 2.29 million viewers and 0.61.
Raw was second among women 18-49 behind Love & Hip Hop Atlanta, but beat the NFL game, second to football in men 18-49, beat football for first in 18-34 and second to Love & Hip Hop among women 12-34, and placed second behind football in men 12-34.
For total viewers, Raw was ninth behind seven news shows and the NFL. Raw also beat everything on network TV in 18-49 except The Bachelorette on ABC.
Raw was up one percent in viewers from last week but up four percent in 18-49 and up 15 percent in 18-34.
Last year’s show this week was the episode after SummerSlam, and Raw was down three percent in viewers, down 14 percent in 18-49, and down 16 percent in 18-34. But that’s a misleading comparison because it was the episode after a PPV.
Factoring out the drop in cable homes from last year, the real percentage of homes and viewers were up one percent from last year, while 18-49 was down 11 percent and 18-34 was down 12 percent.
Once again Raw avoided the big third-hour drop with the Edge vs. Priest main event. Women 18-49 from hour one to three were down eight percent, but men were up seven percent which is rare, women 12-34 were up five percent and men 12-34 were up 19 percent which is very unusual. People over 50 were down 10 percent. Among younger male demos the third hour was a big success.
The three hours were:
- 8 p.m. 2.06 million viewers
- 9 p.m. 2.04 million viewers
- 10 p.m. 1.92 million viewers
Dave Meltzer is the founder and lead writer on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the weekly constant when it comes to news and reviews in pro wrestling and mixed martial arts for more than 40 years. Dave also co-hosts Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and had had bylines for The National, Yahoo Sports, MMA Fighting and others.