The Raw following WrestleMania 39 exceeded expectations with a notable 2.26 million viewers and a 0.76 rating in the 18-49 age group. This marked the second-highest Raw viewership of the year, following the show’s 30th anniversary episode, and the best Raw rating in over three years for the 18-49 demographic.
Raw outperformed almost everything on television, only falling behind CBS’ coverage of the NCAA men’s basketball finals where Connecticut beat San Diego State, which aired during the last two hours of Raw. The basketball game attracted 14.69 million viewers with a 3.73 rating in the 18-49 group, making it one of Raw’s toughest competition nights of the year.
Raw saw a peak in viewership during the commercial-free first hour due to WrestleMania curiosity, but dropped during the third hour, which is a typical trend for the show. Despite the decrease, Raw still dominated cable, tripling second-place Tucker Carlson in the 18-49 group, more than doubling second-place Rock the Block in women 18-49, and surpassing everything in men 18-49. The rating of 0.58 in the 18-34 age group was impressive, especially considering second place only achieved a rating of 0.12. The rating with men aged 12-34 also surpassed the competition with a rating of 0.62, compared to second place’s 0.14.
Raw even outperformed network television shows The Voice and American Idol. The show ranked seventh on cable in total viewers, falling behind six news shows. Raw experienced a 23% increase in viewers from the previous week, a 37% increase in 18-49, and a 41% increase in 18-34.
Comparing the show to last year’s show on the same day after WrestleMania, Raw saw an 8% increase in viewers, a 21% increase in 18-49, and a 23% increase in 18-34. Taking into account the decrease in homes that can receive the USA Network, the actual percentage gains from last year were 14% in viewers, 29% in 18-49, and 31% in 18-34.
Despite the show’s success, the ratings would have been even higher without the basketball game. Men aged 18-49 dropped 23% from the first hour to the third hour, outside the basketball game’s airtime, far more than usual. The drops were also 15% for women aged 18-49, 21% for women aged 12-34, 14% for men aged 12-34, and 13% for people aged 50.
8 p.m. 2.47 million viewers
9 p.m. 2.26 million viewers
10 p.m. 2.05 million viewers
