Did the Final WWE SummerSlam Hype Help This Week’s SmackDown?

This week’s WWE SmackDown, featuring the final hype for Sunday’s SummerSlam pay-per-view, drew 2.530 million viewers. This is down from last week’s 2.584 million viewers. The show also featured the first-ever match between John Cena and WWE Champion Jinder Mahal as the main event.

SmackDown was #5 in viewership, behind Rachel Maddow, Last Word, Tucker Carlson and Hannity. SmackDown #1 in the 18-49 demographic on cable this week.

In comparison, Monday’s RAW drew 3.233 million viewers, down from last week’s 3.240 million viewers.

Below is our 2017 SmackDown Viewership Tracker:

January 3rd Episode: 2.596 million viewers
January 10th Episode: 2.533 million viewers
January 17th Episode: 2.652 million viewers
January 24th Episode: 2.556 million viewers
January 31st Episode: 2.817 million viewers
February 7th Episode: 2.627 million viewers
February 14th Episode: 2.626 million viewers
February 21st Episode: 2.792 million viewers
February 28th Episode: 2.566 million viewers
March 7th Episode: 2.738 million viewers
March 14th Episode: 2.628 million viewers
March 21st Episode: 2.647 million viewers
March 28th Episode: 2.698 million viewers
April 4th Episode: 2.885 million viewers
April 11th Episode: 3.105 million viewers
April 18th Episode: 2.544 million viewers
April 25th Episode: 2.493 million viewers
May 2nd Episode: 2.300 million viewers
May 9th Episode: 2.348 million viewers
May 16th Episode: 2.175 million viewers
May 23rd Episode: 2.328 million viewers
May 30th Episode: 2.350 million viewers
June 6th Episode: 2.349 million viewers
June 13th Episode: 2.072 million viewers
June 20th Episode: 2.597 million viewers
June 27th Episode: 2.603 million viewers
July 4th Episode: 2.329 million viewers
July 11th Episode: 2.465 million viewers
July 18th Episode: 2.548 million viewers
July 25th Episode: 2.535 million viewers
August 1st Episode: 2.569 million viewers
August 8th Episode: 2.584 million viewers
August 15th Episode: 2.530 million viewers