Last week’s edition of Friday Night Smackdown was headlined by a six-man tag team match between Ali, Shorty G, Roman Reigns and Cesaro, Shinsuke Nakamura and King Corbin.
Due to the World Series, Smackdown was moved from FOX to FS1, a move that was expected to come with a large drop in viewers.
Last week’s show brought in 2.442 million viewers. By comparison, the week prior drew 2.898 million, a 456,000 drop off.
This week’s FS1 show brought in just 888,000 viewers, over 1.5 million fewer than the 10/18 episode of Friday Night Smackdown.
Last week, AEW: Dynamite on TNT drew 963,000 viewers, meaning for the first time ever, Tony Khan’s new promotion outdrew either Raw or Smackdown.
Despite this, WWE likely won’t be too disappointed with the ratings this week. FS1 is available in far fewer homes than FOX, so the drop in viewers was likely expected by both Vince McMahon, and FOX higher-ups.
Friday's viewership:
SmackDown on FS 1: 888,000
Bellator 231: 265,000 (Mir vs. Nelson) on Paramount Network
There was no number listed for the replay of AEW Dynamite with the extended ending on TNT
— John Pollock (@iamjohnpollock) October 28, 2019
By comparison, John Pollock is reporting that Bellator 231 featuring AEW star Jake Hager drew just 265,000, meaning Smackdown still performed pretty well on the night.
