WWE’s Backlash fallout episode of SmackDown didn’t do as well as WWE’s Backlash go home episode of SmackDown. The blue show faced similar live sports competition on May 16 as it had the Friday before, but there was significantly more interest in one of the games. Here’s the details…
Per Programming Insider, last week’s SmackDown was watched by 1,290,000 and had a .36 rating with 18-49 year olds. That’s an 11.5% week-to-week decline in the overall audience, and a little more than a 12% drop in the demo number. They’re the show’s worst numbers in both since the Nov. 15, 2024 episode.
In addition to their likely being less interest in last Friday’s show with no John Cena (or Cody Rhodes) and a card that was announced late, there was also more interest in May 16’s NBA Playoff game. The New York Knicks series-clinching defeat of the defending champion Boston Celtics in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference Semi-Final series aired opposite SmackDown on ESPN, and easily won the night in all metrics. That game had 5.73 million viewers and did a 1.63 in the demo; both numbers are more than 30% higher than the NBA Playoff game that won the night on May 9. The pre and post game shows on ESPN were the second and third highest rated originals on Friday night. SmackDown was fourth, ahead of the NHL Playoff Game on TNT (Game 6 of Toronto/Florida) that had a .22 rating from 919K viewers.
WWE will face a Conference Final game from both leagues this Friday, including the Tyrese Halliburton (and the Indiana Pacers) vs. Jalen Brunson (and the Knicks) match-up they foreshadowed last summer. Once we learn how that SmackDown does, we’ll add it to our running tally of the past year’s worth of the show’s results:
* 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.