WWE SmackDown ties record low demo rating against World Cup
Friday night’s WWE SmackDown episode averaged 1.038 million viewers on USA Network, down 4.7 percent from the previous week. It’s the lowest audience total for the show since January 23.
In the 18-49 demo, SmackDown drew a 0.20 rating. That’s down 16.7 percent from the prior week and ties the lowest rating the show has done in that category on USA Network for a first-run episode.
The show went head-to-head with Fox’s coverage of a World Cup soccer game between the United States and Paraguay, which topped all of television with a 5.92 rating in 18-49 and averaged more than 18 million viewers. SmackDown was second on the prime time cable charts in the 18-49 demo, trailing ESPN’s coverage of the College World Series, and finished sixth on the night in terms of total viewers.
As compared to the same week in 2025, SmackDown’s overall viewership was down 25.9 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 45.4 percent.
Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership numbers and 18-49 demo ratings for SmackDown, as well as the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s show was down 19.1 percent in viewers and 35.5 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.
WWE SmackDown ratings —
| Date | 18-49 | Total viewers |
| 4/3/2026 | 0.43 | 1,508,000 |
| 4/10/2026 | 0.36 | 1,412,000 |
| 4/17/2026 | 0.42 | 1,580,000 |
| 4/24/2026 | 0.32 | 1,267,000 |
| 5/1/2026 | 0.25 | 1,153,000 |
| 5/8/2026 | 0.29 | 1,279,000 |
| 5/15/2026 | 0.23 | 1,184,000 |
| 5/22/2026 | 0.29 | 1,258,000 |
| 5/29/2026 | 0.23 | 1,096,000 |
| 6/5/2026 | 0.24 | 1,089,000 |
| 6/12/2026 | 0.20 | 1,038,000 |
| 10-week average | 0.31 | 1,282,600 |
