For the sixth straight week, SmackDown ratings were down on Tuesday night.
Last night’s show averaged 2.449 million viewers, the lowest number since Halloween. Ratings have been down since the January 2nd episode averaged 2.720 million viewers.
SmackDown went against tough competition from the Winter Olympics and an NBA game that featured LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers last night.
It was a tough night for cable TV all around as, despite the low number, SmackDown was fifth for the night in total viewers, higher than it usually finishes. It was second in the 18-49 demo with a 0.76 rating, trailing the basketball game, which did a 1.16 rating.
This was also the third straight week, and fourth in the last five, that SmackDown ratings were down year-over-year.
After Monday’s stronger-than-expected Raw number, SmackDown fell to 79 percent audience retention, which is lower than usual. Since Raw wasn’t as affected by the Olympics, it’s likely the basketball game was the reason for SmackDown’s drop.