MNT Sees Record Ratings With Wrasslin'

By John Eggerton
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

MyNetworkTV said Monday that the debut of its Friday night wrestling show was the most-watched program ever on the network.

WWE Friday Night Smackdown, which moved over from The CW this season, drew 3.2 million viewers 2-plus and generated a whopping 233% increase in its 18-49 audience, said MNT.

Not surprisingly, the show did particularly well with male demos, registering record numbers with men 18-34 (a 1.2 rating, tops among all networks, says MNT) and in men 18-49 (a 1.3 rating).

MyNetworkTV Chief Greg Mediel had predicted the show would be a “promotional locomotive” the likes of which his network had not seen before.

John Eggerton
John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.