The August 29, 2025, episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown suffered a significant drop in viewership, hitting an all-time low for a non-preempted broadcast.
According to Programming Insider, the episode drew 1.147 million viewers on USA Network—down from the 1.258 million viewers the August 22 episode brought in. This marks a decrease of 111,000 viewers (-8.8%), making it the lowest recorded audience for a regularly scheduled SmackDown broadcast in the show’s history.
The P18–49 demographic also saw a sharp drop. This week’s show scored a 0.28 rating, a 20% decrease from the 0.35 rating the previous week.
Despite the drop, SmackDown still finished #2 on cable for the night, behind only college football on ESPN—which likely siphoned a large portion of the younger male audience typically tuning in to SmackDown.
WWE SmackDown August 29, 2025: Viewership and Highlights
This week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown featured a lot of memorable moments and that included Sami Zayn defeating Solo Sikoa in order to win the WWE United States Championship, much to the approval of fans.
John Cena also issued an apology to a young fan that he called “toxic” back in Brussels a few months ago. This and many other moments took place throughout the night.
WWE SmackDown Viewership – August 29 vs. August 22, 2025
| Metric | August 22, 2025 | August 29, 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Viewers | 1.258M | 1.147M | -8.8% |
| 18–49 Demo Rating | 0.35 | 0.28 | -20.0% |
| Cable Rank | #1 | #2 | ↓ 1 spot |
Ringside News will continue to provide the latest viewership data and key developments from Friday Night SmackDown as WWE builds momentum towards Clash in Paris.
Are you surprised the Smack Down viewership was down this much last week? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.
September 2, 2025 9:53 pm
