WWE NXT Ratings Rebound In Key Demo Opposite Celtics Vs. Heat

On Tuesday, "WWE NXT" had some stiff competition from game four of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat, plus additional competition from the NHL playoffs. With the semifinals of the "NXT" Women's Championship Tournament anchoring the show, the May 23 episode showed positive movement. According to reporting from ShowbuzzDaily and Wrestlenomics, this week's show averaged 578,000 viewers across its 127 minutes (up two percent from last week), approximately 209,000 of which were in the "key demo" most valued by advertisers, adults aged 18 to 49 (up 14 percent from last week). The latter number translates to a 0.16 rating in P18-49, which earned "NXT" 14th place in ShowbuzzDaily's rankings of the day's cable originals.

The NBA game on TNT averaged 6,561,000 viewers with a 2.33 rating in adults 18 to 49, while the NHL Western Conference Finals game between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Dallas Stars on ESPN averaged 1,258,000 viewers with a 0.39 key demo rating. Outside of "NXT" on USA Network and "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" on Bravo, every show in ShowbuzzDaily's top 15 "cable originals" aired on ESPN or TNT.

For a more extensive picture, 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, the results were very mixed. The biggest gain over the median, percentage-wise, came in male viewers aged 12 to 34 at 24 percent, followed by men aged 18 to 49, which increased by 12 percent. The biggest percentage drop, meanwhile, was in women aged 18 to 49 at 23 percent, followed by female viewers aged 12 to 34 at 14 percent. All of the other movement in either direction was five percent or less.