WWE NXT Ratings Dip Back Down Opposite First Game Of NBA Conference Finals

The tournament for the vacant women's title continued on Tuesday's episode of "NXT," but the WWE developmental show was not able to maintain last week's ratings momentum that coincided with the beginning of the tournament. According to reporting from ShowbuzzDaily and Wrestlenomics, the May 16 "NXT" averaged 564,000 viewers overall across its 125 minutes (down six percent from last week), approximately 183,000 of which were in the "key demo" most valued by advertisers, adults aged 18 to 49 (down 18 percent from the week prior). The latter figure translates to a 0.14 rating in P18-49, which earned "NXT" 15th place in ShowbuzzDaily's rankings of Tuesday's cable originals, down from last week's 12th place finish.

This week's NBA competition was considerably stiffer than last week's. Tuesday's Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets conference finals game on ESPN did a whopping 2.56 rating in the key demo, up considerably from last week's Tuesday games on TNT, which pulled in ratings of 1.71 and 1.76 in P18-49.

For a bigger picture look at the recent ratings, the Wrestlenomics Patreon page tracks how "NXT" did in various demographics in relation to the median of the prior four weeks' numbers. By that metric, every demo being tracked was down with the exceptions of the teen and young adult demographics. Male viewers aged 12 to 34 went up 22 percent over the median, while female viewers in the same age group saw no change. The biggest percentage drop came in women aged 18 to 49, which dropped 19 percent from the median, followed by adults aged 35 to 49 at 13 percent and adults aged 25 to 54 at ten percent.