WWE SmackDown ratings up for move to three hours
Friday night’s WWE SmackDown episode averaged 1.175 million viewers on USA Network, up 3.3 percent from the previous week. It’s the second-largest audience total for the show since November 21.
This was the first SmackDown episode of 2026 and marked the return to a three-hour format. The show drew a 0.28 rating in the 18-49 demo, which is up 3.7 percent from the prior week and ties the best rating SmackDown has done in that category since the November 21 edition.
As compared to the same week in 2025, (which used Nielsen’s old panel-only reporting method), SmackDown’s overall viewership was down 23.1 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 37.8 percent.
Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership numbers and 18-49 demo ratings for SmackDown, along with the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s episode was up 5.2 percent in viewers and 7.7 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.
WWE SmackDown ratings —
| Date | 18-49 | Total viewers |
| 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 |
| 12/26/2025 | 0.27 | 1,138,000 |
| 12/2/2026 | 0.28 | 1,175,000 |
| 10-week average | 0.26 | 1,116,700 |
