WWE SmackDown drops below one million viewers for pre-taped episode
The December 19 pre-taped edition of WWE SmackDown averaged 995,000 viewers on USA Network, down 19.8 percent from the previous week. It’s the lowest audience total for the show since Halloween night.
In the 18-49 demo, SmackDown drew a 0.21 rating. That’s down 19.2 percent from the prior week and is also the lowest rating SmackDown has done since the Halloween night episode.
The show went head-to-head with a College Football Playoff game that combined for nearly 15 million viewers between ABC & ESPN and drew a 3.15 rating in 18-49. SmackDown finished ahead of everything else on television in the key demo.
There was also competition from the undercard of Netflix’s Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua boxing special that took place on the same night.
As compared to the same week in 2024 (which used Nielsen’s old panel-only reporting method), SmackDown’s overall viewership was down 25 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 43.2 percent.
This Friday’s December 26 episode of SmackDown has also been taped in advance. Spoilers for the show can be found here.
Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership totals and 18-49 demo ratings for SmackDown, along with the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s show was down 11.5 percent in viewers and 19.2 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.
WWE SmackDown ratings —
| Date | 18-49 | Total viewers |
| 10/10/2025 | 0.22 | 1,025,000 |
| 10/17/2025 | 0.28 | 1,182,000 |
| 10/24/2025 | 0.29 | 1,147,000 |
| 10/31/2025 | 0.20 | 933,000 |
| 11/7/2025 | 0.26 | 1,141,000 |
| 11/14/2025 | 0.27 | 1,158,000 |
| 11/21/2025 | 0.29 | 1,210,000 |
| 11/28/2025 | 0.28 | 1,142,000 |
| 12/5/2025 | 0.24 | 1,063,000 |
| 12/12/2025 | 0.26 | 1,240,000 |
| 12/19/2025 | 0.21 | 995,000 |
| 10-week average | 0.26 | 1,124,100 |
