The latest episode of WWE SmackDown, broadcast on Friday night, attracted an average of 990,000 viewers on the USA Network, marking a 15.7 percent drop from the prior week. This marked the smallest audience for the show since Halloween night in 2025, highlighting a notable decline in the program’s reach.
Live Broadcast from Berlin Featuring a Championship Decider
The event took place live from Berlin, Germany, airing internationally on Netflix before later showing on USA Network in the United States. The episode’s highlight was a high-stakes WWE Championship match where Drew McIntyre triumphed over Cody Rhodes in a brutal Three Stages of Hell contest to claim the title.
Key Demographic Ratings and Competitive Challenges
In the critical 18 to 49 age group, SmackDown posted a 0.26 rating, down 7.1 percent from the preceding week. Despite this decrease, it remained the third-best rating in that key demographic for the show since late November. The program faced strong competition from a College Football Playoff game on ESPN, which garnered a dominant 3.86 rating and exceeded 17 million viewers in the same demo. Even with this stiff rivalry, SmackDown secured the second position across all television in the demographic on a night when the main English broadcast networks combined attracted fewer than nine million viewers overall.
Year-over-Year Comparison Highlights Larger Declines
When compared to the same week in 2025, utilizing Nielsen’s previous panel-only measurement, the total viewership for SmackDown fell by 31.1 percent, and its rating among viewers aged 18 to 49 decreased by 35 percent. These statistics underline the ongoing challenges the show faces in maintaining and growing its audience in a competitive broadcast environment.
Implications for SmackDown’s Audience Trends
The downward trajectory in WWE SmackDown viewership, especially falling below the one million mark, signals potential issues in viewer retention and competition with other broadcast events. Maintaining key demographic ratings amidst such competition remains crucial for the show’s future success. Moving forward, WWE SmackDown may need to explore new strategies to reverse this decline and sustain engagement on both domestic and international platforms.
