After the first half of 2024, WWE’s viewership in the coveted 18-49 demographic rose for Raw, SmackDown, and NXT when compared to the first half of 2023.
According to Nielsen, WWE Raw averaged 745k viewers in 18-49, an increase of 4 percent. SmackDown fared better, with a 10 percent jump (862k) compared to the first six months of 2023. The big winner, however, was NXT. The developmental brand went up 26 percent (252k) over 2023 partly thanks to a collaboration with TNA as well as a focus on making NXT a mix of developmental and a third main brand.
All three shows will have new homes over the next six months. NXT will move from USA to The CW starting October 1, and be the broadcast network option for WWE fans. SmackDown is going from broadcast to cable as it leaves Fox for USA on September 13. Raw will go from cable to streaming as the long-running show heads to Netflix in January 2025.
It remains to be seen how different the Netflix version of Raw will be when compared to the cable TV version. Many fans are hoping, due to the lack of language restrictions on streaming platforms, that there will be a more relaxed approach by WWE in terms of censoring bad language. Particularly when it comes to fans chanting curse words as censoring those chants can disrupt a wrestler’s promo.
