WWE Viewership Is Tanking For Coronavirus-Impacted Shows

As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) renders pro wrestling an empty-arena sport, viewership patterns for WWE are beginning to crater.

With live touring—which brought in just under $28 million even in a down 4Q-19—put on ice indefinitely, WWE’s downward-trending television viewership has to be disheartening considering bullish expectations for television viewership with most of the nation stuck at home. In fact, television ratings have risen in a climate where sheltering-in-place has become the new normal.

WWE felt an initial wave of viewership momentum as the spread of the coronavirus quickly devolved from pesky outbreak to lockdown-inducing pandemic.

The March 17 broadcast of Raw, which represented its first WWE Performance Center broadcast, translated to its highest viewership in a month, garnering 2.335 million viewers.

It’s worth mentioning the broadcast featured the return of WWE Hall of Famers Edge and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Having said that, Friday Night SmackDown, four days later, drew its second-highest viewership of 2020 for its second closed-set show with 2.569 million viewers.

WWE Raw Viewership for Coronavirus-Impacted Shows

• March 16, 2020—2.335 million
• March 23, 2020—2.006 million (Second-lowest non-holiday viewership in history)

WWE NXT Viewership for Coronavirus-Impacted Shows

• March 18, 2020—542,000 (Lowest viewership since moving to USA Network)
• March 25, 2020—669,000 (Lowest viewership for a first-run WWE NXT on USA Network)

WWE Friday Night SmackDown Viewership for Coronavirus-Impacted Shows

• March 13, 2020—2.470 million
• March 20, 2020—2.569 million
• March 27, 2020—2.374 million (Overnight Viewership)

WWE’s suddenly necessary pattern of re-airing archive footage was part of what initially looked like a promising formula for coronavirus-era wrestling. WWE’s re-airing of the 2020 Royal Rumble led to a significant boost in viewership on the March 17 Raw.

Reality may begin to set in, however, as the sample size for WWE’s new normal increases. There is now more and more evidence that suggests WWE will have a hard time maintaining its already struggling viewership for weekly television with its most significant contributor—live crowds—imposed to stay home.

This past week’s Raw drew the second-lowest non-holiday viewership in the promotion’s history. WWE NXT, coming off a record-low 542,000 viewers for a vignette heavy broadcast, sluggishly bounced back with 669,000 viewers. The number still represented its lowest viewership for a first-run show as NXT failed to crack the 18-49 Top 50 in back-to-back weeks.

The early returns for WWE Friday Night SmackDown aren’t much more encouraging. Assuming the number holds up, viewership fell to 2.374 million, down 7.4% from last week. Final viewership numbers will be available on Monday.

WWE ratings might be salvaged simply out of curiosity amid the surge of drama that plagued WWE’s WrestleMania 36 tapings as the promotion continued to limp across the finish line. With one match after another changed, due to several at-risk stars pulling out, viewers may be interested to find out WWE deals with making final announcements for a once-anticipated card that has already been taped.