Prediction for Live Smackdown Draft Rating/Viewership?

Hi, Scott. What kind of rating/viewership do you think the first Smackdown Live/Draft episode will get?

Having a quality show and whether Smackdown can maintain the rating are more important than a single week’s number, but this – from to WWE’s promotion of the story to general interest in the draft to NXT hype/hope – should pop a good number, right?

For reference, Smackdown has averaged a 1.57 rating and 2.13M viewers the past month or so. Raw’s numbers are skewed a bit by the July 4 show, so let’s put it at a 2.25 rating and 3.10M viewers as a comparison.

Thanks.

​As noted, this week’s viewership is going to be essentially meaningless, because the only number that matters is what they get once the split has begun and Vince has lost interest in his new toy. I think they’ll do 3 million viewers for the "reboot" episode, though, especially if RAW actually has a strong angle to lead into the first live show. ​