WWE SmackDown viewership increased with the first night of the 2023 WWE Draft on April 28.
Per Wrestlenomics, 2.473 million viewers tuned in on Friday. This number is up from last week when 2.175 million viewers watched the show. The April 28 episode drew SmackDown’s highest viewership number since January 27, 2023.
In the 18 to 49 demographic, SmackDown scored a 0.67 rating, which also marks an increase from last week (0.54 rating in the same demographic). WWE SmackDown ranked #5 in the demographic on Friday night. SmackDown was up against coverage of the NBA Playoffs on Friday.
The April 28 episode of SmackDown kicked off the 2023 WWE Draft. In the main event, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn defended the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship against The Usos.
