WWE Raw Rating Down For Draft Episode Opposite NBA And NHL Playoffs

Friday night's draft episode of "WWE SmackDown" drawing a particularly strong rating despite NBA and NHL playoff competition seemed like a good omen for the following Monday's draft episode of "Raw" also showing an increase, but in reality, it wasn't. 

According to ShowBuzzDaily and Wrestlenomics, the May 1 episode of "Raw" averaged 1,778,000 viewers across its three hours )down 2% from the previous week), approximately 704,000 of which were in the "key demo" most valued by advertisers, adults aged 18 to 49 (down 4% from a week prior). The latter figure translates to a 0.54 rating in the key demo, which earned "Raw" fifth place among ShowBuzzDaily's rankings of Monday's cable originals. It wasn't a bad showing given the competition, but it underwhelmed compared to "SmackDown."

For a bigger picture look at where Monday's ratings stand, the Wrestlenomics Patreon page tracks the viewership across various demographics compared to the median of the preceding four weeks. By that metric, every demographic tracked was down compared to the median, with the biggest percentage drops being in women aged 18 to 49 (14%) and female viewers aged 12 to 34 (13%). Total viewership didn't fare as badly, being down 2%, identical to the week-over-week drop, while adults aged 50+ saw the smallest percentage drop at 1%.

Hour-over-hour, the first two hours of the draft episode of "Raw" were nearly tied, going from 1,841,000 viewers with a 0.56 rating in 18 to 49 to an identical key demo rating and 1,873,000 viewers. Hour three, though, dropped to 1,620,000 viewers and a 0.50 rating in the key demo.