WWE SmackDown Ratings Are in a Free Fall

According to Wrestlenomics, the ratings for the January 16 SmackDown on the USA Network fell to 968,000 viewers, with an 0.21 rating in the coveted 18-49 demographic. This is down 2% from last week's show, which had an audience of 990,000, and has fallen a dramatic 10% from the previous four week average of 1,074,000. It's even worse for the 18-49 demo, which fell 19% from January 9, and is down 19% compared the trailing month.

Then there are the comparisons to last year, which shows a shocking loss of WWE's Friday night viewership. Compared to the first quarter of last year, SmackDown has lost 32% of fans, going from 1,532,000 to 1,044,000. In a comparison of January 2025 to January 2026, the blue brand has lost 29% of its audience. Perhaps worst of all is that nearly half of 18-49 viewers are gone, with 46% of the first quarter of 2025 and 43% of January 2025 tuning out for the same categories so far in 2026.

Why Are WWE SmackDown Ratings Falling So Dramatically?

It has been a time of change in WWE regarding how their shows are presented. Following decades on USA, Raw now airs exclusively on Netflix around the world. Stats for Raw worldwide have stayed around 2.5 to 3 million fans most weeks. For SmackDown, which also airs on Netflix outside the United States, ratings are steady at near 900,000 weekly. So why have they fallen off so dramatically in the U.S.? When SmackDown left FOX for USA, they immediately lost 700,000 viewers. That was unfortunate yet explainable, but within the last year, 500,000 more viewers have left stateside despite SmackDown staying on the same network.

WWE has Cody Rhodes, the WWE Championship, and now three hours of programming, yet things only get worse. Part of the blame can be put on sports competition for a few of those bad ratings weeks. And on January 16, with SmackDown taking place in London, it had already aired before the taped version was shown in America. Still, even with episodes filmed in the states, and with less competition, ratings aren't great. Several factors are at work. Sadly, the show has become rather dull and repetitive, held down by boring title feuds, lackluster matches outside of the United States Championship, and way too many DQ endings. With SmackDown back to being three hours long, we can expect it to get even worse. Who wants more of a show they're already turning away from?