Monday’s Raw continued a severe post-WrestleMania slide leading into the Payback PPV, as the show fell to a 2.20 rating the week after falling to a 2.32 rating for a taped international show.
It was the lowest rating of the year and lowest since a 2.15 rating in December. If not for the Dec. 7 episode, this would have been the lowest-rated regular-week Raw TV rating in about 20 years.
April 4 post-WM: 2.93 rating
April 11: 2.50 rating
April 18: 2.32 rating (U.K.)
April 25: 2.20 rating (25% decline since WM32)
– Raw was especially hit hard among 18-49 viewers. General adults 18-49 fell one-tenth of a rating to easily the lowest a18-49 rating of the year. Also, males 18-49 fell eight percent to easily the lowest m18-49 rating of the year.
The only demographic that improved was males 18-34, which hit an extreme low-point last week and inched up from the basement level this week.
– Raw’s three hours averaged 3.128 million viewers, down six percent from last week’s audience of 3.335 million viewers.
It was by far the fewest viewers of the year and also the fewest since Dec. 7, 2015. Hourly Break Down:
First Hour: 3.263 million viewers (down about 200k from last week)
Second Hour: 3.184 million viewers (down about 350k from last week)
Third Hour: 2.938 million viewers (down 40k from last week)
For the second consecutive week, the third hour drew fewer than 3.0 million viewers. That is the first time that has happened in the modern era.
Even during last year’s difficult Fall TV season, there were no back-to-back shows where the third hour drew fewer than three million viewers.
The key this week appears to be a very soft second hour (with the big week-to-week drop-off), which then fed into the typically soft third hour.
Caldwell’s Analysis: The issues are obvious week after week. In summary, the loyal audience base is eroding, WWE is not a hot TV property right now, rejection of Roman Reigns as WWE champion, the casual viewers have little connection to the new stars and storylines hurriedly introduced after WrestleMania, over-exposed established stars who do not feel special, an interim tag on Shane McMahon running or not running Raw week-to-week, and a flimsy, incomplete vision from Vince McMahon as head of Creative trying to mix established and new stars coming out of WrestleMania. Short-term, trying to put a band-aid on a big problem, WWE is going to have to come up with a big angle coming out of Payback to re-energize the show. Otherwise, they’re looking at falling below 2.0 when John Cena shows up on Memorial Day.
Thanks to James Caldwell at PWTorch
