WWE SmackDown Viewership Trends Upward

After doing a surprisingly low number for last week's post-WrestleMania broadcast, WWE SmackDown performed better in the overnight viewership this week.

Per Showbuzz Daily, the April 23 SmackDown averaged 2,042,000 viewers, up 45,000 (2.3 percent) from the 1,997,000 viewers averaged by SmackDown in the overnight viewership last week.

SmackDown averaged 2,046,000 viewers for hour one, and 2,037,000 viewers for hour two.

As per its recent norm, SmackDown held steady in 18-49 with a .50 rating.

All the demos and shares held firm going from the first hour to the second, with one exception: the adults 25-54 demo increased from a .60 rating to a .70 over that stretch.

SmackDown finished second in its timeslots in 18-49, tied with the 9 pm airing of Dateline NBC, and behind ABC's Shark Tank.

To SmackDown's credit, it won the night in 18-34, with a .30 rating. Generally, SmackDown either ties, or falls short to, Shark Tank in that demo, making this a rare overall win for the blue-brand show in that category.

SmackDown also held the highest share (5) of men 18-49 for all network TV on Friday night.