The NBA Finals still had one game to go, but as of the June 20 SmackDown WWE’s schedule is clear of nationally televised live sports competition for a little while. That show once again featured John Cena, Ron “R-Truth” Killings, and CM Punk as the company builds toward their Night of Champions show in Saudi Arabia this weekend.
How did it do in the ratings?
Per Programming Insider, last week’s SmackDown was watched by 1,524,000 viewers and did a .38 rating among 18-49 year olds. The demo rating was unchanged from the previous Friday, but the overall audience rose nearly 9% to its highest point since April.
SmackDown was the ninth most watched show on the night, and finished first in the ratings. Its fiercest competition came from a 50-year-old great white shark... NBC’s anniversary broadcast of Jaws had the biggest total audience on television Friday with 3.26 million viewers. The replay of Steven Spielberg’s iconic film finished second in the demo with a .31 rating.
This Friday’s show is currently scheduled to emanate from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia ahead of the premium live event there the next day. If no changes are necessary due to current events, it will air on tape delay in the States.
Here’s our running tally of the past year’s worth of the SmackDown’s numbers:
* Moved from FOX to USA Network (broadcast to cable)
** Added a third hour
For complete results from the latest SmackDown, our live blog is here. To read a recap & review of the night’s events click here.