One week after CM Punk’s return to ‘WWE Monday Night Raw,’ the show predictably saw a dip in viewership.
According to Wrestlenomics, the December 4 episode of ‘Raw’ averaged 1,533,000 viewers. The episode scored a 0.49 rating in the P18-49 demographic.
Both of those numbers were down from the post-Survivor Series episode last week. The returns of Punk and ‘The Viper’ Randy Orton led to a massive audience for last week’s show from Nashville, Tennessee. The November 27 episode of ‘Raw’ had posted an average of 1,884,000 viewers, the show’s highest viewership since the summertime. Last week’s episode also scored a 0.65 in the P18-49 demographic.
So that means the December 4 episode was down 19 percent in average viewership and down 25 percent in the P18-49 demographic rating.
The show’s peak viewership came in the second quarter-hour (8:15-8:30 p.m. ET). Sami Zayn wrestled Drew McIntyre in a match during the quarter-hour that stemmed off the opening segment of the show. An average of 1,704,000 viewers tuned in from 8:15-8:30 p.m. Eastern. The show also experienced a boost in a segment featuring Nia Jax and multi-time Women’s Champion Becky Lynch in the 8:45-9:00 quarter-hour.
WWE Raw last night on USA Network:
1,533,000 viewers
P18-49 rating: 0.49 pic.twitter.com/Vt3OPpPJrG— Wrestlenomics (@wrestlenomics) December 5, 2023
Now, before you press the panic button, there’s important context. Last week’s show always figured to be an anomaly. With Punk and Orton returning and after neither was advertised for the show this week, you expected them to take a hit. CM Punk will appear on this week’s Smackdown episode, a special “Tribute to the Troops” episode airing live on Fox. Orton is also now a member of the Smackdown roster and could face Roman Reigns at the ‘Royal Rumble’ if things go as they appear to be rolling.
So, from that perspective, a dip was coming. And a dip was definitely always going to come against ‘Monday Night Football.’ The game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Jacksonville Jaguars averaged 16.5 million viewers across ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2. There were also NBA In-Season Tournament games going on throughout the night.
That ‘Raw’ scored such a massive audience last week was a resounding success and a difference from the norm. Even at its peak during the late ’90s and early 2000s, WWE always played for second on Monday nights behind the NFL. So is everyone. It’s the most popular TV show in the country.
Even still, though, the numbers ‘Raw’ posted Monday night were up off their averages last year. The 1,533,000 average was still higher than all of December 2022’s average viewership of 1,447,000. In the P18-49 demographic, they are way up, as their Q4 average of 0.48 is up off its 0.42 Q4 average, and last December, their average was at just 0.37. So, the score of 0.49 would still be higher.
[Data cited by Wrestlenomics]
