WWE SmackDown FOX Kickoff Pre-show Viewership, More On Viewership For The SmackDown FOX Premiere

Friday's WWE SmackDown Kickoff pre-show on FOX drew 2.329 million viewers, according to Showbuzz Daily. The thirty-minute pre-show drew a 0.8 rating in the key 18-49 demographic.

As noted on Saturday, Friday's two-hour SmackDown FOX premiere drew 3.869 million viewers, up from the 2.099 million viewers that the final SmackDown USA Network episode drew the previous Tuesday night. We also noted then that the show topped the night in the 18-49 demographic with a 1.35 rating.

In an update, the final data release from Nielsen has 3.888 million viewers for the main SmackDown episode. The show drew a final rating of 1.4 in the key 18-49 demographic, a 1.0 rating in the 18-34 demographic, and a 1.6 rating in the 25-54 demo.

The two-hour SmackDown broadcast aired at 8pm ET and was #5 for the night on network TV in viewership, behind Blue Bloods on CBS (7.440 million viewers), Hawaii Five-0 on CBS (6.556 million viewers), Magnum PI on CBS (6.088 million viewers), and Blacklist on NBC (4.052 million viewers).

The SmackDown pre-show aired at 7:30pm ET and was #9 for the night in viewership. The pre-show drew a 0.6 rating int he 18-34 demo, 0.8 in the key 18-49 demo, and a 0.9 in the 25-54 demo.

Major League Baseball coverage topped the night on cable, with more than 9 million viewers across TBS and the MLB Network.

To compare, last week's pro wrestling viewership looks like this: Monday's RAW season premiere drew an average of 2.571 million viewers on the USA Network, up from the previous week's 2.210 million viewers; Wednesday's WWE NXT season premiere drew 891,000 viewers on the USA Network; Wednesday's AEW Dynamite premiere drew 1.409 million viewers on TNT; Friday's SmackDown FOX Kickoff pre-show drew 2.329 million viewers; Friday's SmackDown premiere on FOX drew 3.888 million viewers.

Below is our 2019 SmackDown Viewership Tracker:

January 1 Episode: 2.091 million viewers (New Year's episode, taped)
January 8 Episode: 2.032 million viewers
January 15 Episode: 2.143 million viewers
January 22 Episode: 2.142 million viewers
January 29 Episode: 2.137 million viewers (post-Royal Rumble episode)
February 5 Episode: 1.841 million viewers (State of the Union competition)
February 12 Episode: 2.034 million viewers
February 19 Episode: 2.269 million viewers (post-Elimination Chamber episode)
February 26 Episode: 2.150 million viewers
March 5 Episode: 2.155 million viewers
March 12 Episode: 2.198 million viewers (post-Fastlane episode)
March 19 Episode: 2.208 million viewers
March 26 Episode: 2.393 million viewers
April 2 Episode: 2.141 million viewers
April 9 Episode: 2.199 million viewers (post-WrestleMania 35 episode)
April 16 Episode: 2.219 million viewers (Superstar Shakeup episode)
April 23 Episode: 2.072 million viewers
April 30 Episode: 1.833 million viewers
May 7 Episode: 1.931 million viewers
May 14 Episode: 1.827 million viewers (taped episode from London)
May 21 Episode: 1.983 million viewers (post-Money In the Bank episode)
May 28 Episode: 2.072 million viewers
June 4 Episode: 2.016 million viewers
June 11 Episode: 1.930 million viewers (post-Super ShowDown episode)
June 18 Episode: 1.859 million viewers
June 25 Episode: 1.921 million viewers (post-Stomping Grounds episode)
July 2 Episode: 1.890 million viewers
July 9 Episode: 1.853 million viewers
July 16 Episode: 2.122 million viewers (post-Extreme Rules episode)
July 23 Episode: 2.162 million viewers
July 30 Episode: 1.911 million viewers
August 6 Episode: 2.088 million viewers
August 13 Episode: 2.164 million viewers (post-SummerSlam episode)
August 20 Episode: 2.142 million viewers
August 27 Episode: 2.088 million viewers
September 3 Episode: 2.130 million viewers
September 10 Episode: 2.061 million viewers
September 17 Episode: 2.064 million viewers (post-Clash of Champions episode)
September 24 Episode: 2.099 million viewers (final USA Network episode)
October 4 Episode: 3.888 million viewers (FOX premiere, 20th anniversary special)
October 11 Episode:

2018 Total: 122.304 million viewers
2018 Average: 2.352 million viewers per episode

2017 Total: 132.401 million viewers
2017 Average: 2.546 million viewers per episode