WWE Friday Night Smackdown drew more viewers on FS1 than AEW did on TNT per Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily.
Smackdown aired on FS1 as Fox aired the MLB Playoffs. WWE ranked third overall in cable while Rampage finished in fourth. It did go 30 minutes more than AEW and stacked its card with the likes of Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar. AEW’s top draw for Friday on Rampage was a six man tag featuring former MMA star Junior dos Santos and a run-in from Jorge Masvidal.
Here’s a story nobody leaked to you over the weekend but I’ll give you rn, dog: @AEW got a big victory over WWE after WWE aggressively extended their Friday show 30 minutes & loaded it up head-to-head 10-10:30pm vs #AEWRampage, with AEW Rampage winning 328k to 285k (+15% margin).
— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) October 18, 2021
Smackdown drew 0.24 in the A18-49 demo (same as Rampage), 0.16 in F18-49, 0.32 in M18-49, 0.15 in A18-34, 0.10 in F12-34, 0.20 in M12-34, 0.28 in A25-54 and 0.43 in over 50.
Rampage drew 0.24 in A18-49, 0.14 in F18-49, 0.34 in M18-49, 0.17 in A18-34, 0.10 in F12-34, 0.16 in M12-34, 0.28 in A25-54 and 0.21 in over 50.
While Smackdown improved in its A18-49 demo, Rampage still held the edge in the young male demo.
Payout Perspective:
This ratings race would be interesting to follow if Smackdown were on FS1 each Friday night. Despite the popularity of AEW, Smackdown still has a solid following even with the move of channels. Notably, the older generation.
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