Spring TV Viewership Report – WWE Smackdown & “American Grit” peak early on Thursdays

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PWTorch editor Wade Keller presents a special Thursday Flagship edition of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast featuring a WrestleMania 36 Preview with ex-WWE Creative Team member and professional stand-up comedian Matt McCarthy.

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The nine-week run of WWE Smackdown and John Cena’s “American Grit” sharing TV space on Thursday nights peaked early and faded late.

From April 14 to June 9, Smackdown averaged 2.23 million viewers, down 10 percent from the First Quarter 2016 average of 2.48 million viewers during WrestleMania Season.

During the same period that “American Grit” aired on Fox, John Cena’s show averaged 1.98 million viewers.

The two shows combined to average 4.21 million viewers.

The first week of Smackdown and Grit airings on April 14 combined to draw 4.71 million viewers. Week 2 combined for 4.60 million viewers. After that, the next seven weeks fell below the average.

Included was Thursday’s season finale of Grit, which combined with Smackdown to actually draw fewer viewers than last week, mainly due to Smackdown drawing a year-low audience.

The final tally of which show drew more viewers was Smackdown with eight and Grit with one. Grit’s season finale outdrew Smackdown, mainly due to Smackdown’s year-low viewership.