Smackdown Viewership Climbs To Six-Week High Following Orton-Rhodes Conflict
The March 20, 2026 episode of WWE's "SmakDown" on the USA Network achieved its highest viewership in six weeks as ratings remained steady. This surge followed a dramatic storyline where Randy Orton turned against Cody Rhodes during Friday Night Smackdown earlier that week.
Key Points
-
1WWE SmackDown on March 20, 2026 (aired Friday night), averaged approximately 1.43 to 1.44 million viewers.
-
2The episode achieved a rating of 0.32 in the key 18-49 demographic and marked its highest six-week high point for audience size since March Madness coverage began on USA Network earlier that week (March 6).
-
3Viewership increased by approximately 1% to roughly +75,00 viewers compared to last Friday's episode of the same show.
-
4The increase in ratings and viewer count occurred despite a significant NCAA Tournament broadcast taking place simultaneously.
Developments
WWE SmackDown's Friday episode drew 1.439 million viewers with an average rating of 0.32 in the key demographic for USA Network and WrestleNomics last night; this marks its highest audience since February, though it remains below recent averages from both late January (February) early March).
The WWE SmakDown episode on Friday night attracted an average of 1.439 million viewers and a key demographic rating (ages 18-49) of 0.32, marking the highest total audience since February but representing both year-over-year growth from late January figures in that specific timeframe while remaining unchanged compared to last week's numbers as reported by WrestleNomics on March 5th
The March 20, 2026 episode of WWE SmackDown averaged 1.44 million viewers on the USA Network and a key demographic rating (KDR) of 0.32 according to Programming Insider data released by [email protected] . The show ranked sixth in cable ratings for that night but saw no change from its previous week's performance compared with NCAA Tournament coverage airing simultaneously
WWE Smackdown's Friday episode maintained its rating at 0.32 while reaching six-week-high viewership of approximately 1.44 million, though these figures remain below February levels and the night was dominated by NCAA Tournament games on TNT and TBS due to Nielsen data adjustments affecting year-over-year comparisons in early 2026.
WWE's Friday Night Smackdown averaged 1.439 million viewers for the USA Network with a 0.32 rating in the key demographic of adults aged 18-49. These figures represent slight increases compared to previous episodes but remain consistent year-over-year, staying above the show's historical average despite being slightly lower than March 2025 numbers due to inflation adjustments not explicitly detailed here (the text notes they are "above" their own recent averages).