Show that replaces SmackDown on Thursday draws well, other TV notes
On Saturday, September 24, 2005 at 2:54 AM EST The heavily hyped Chris Rock produced show "Everybody Hates Chris" that moved WWE SmackDown to Friday night and now holds the Thursday night timeslot turned out to be a very big hit and exceeded many people's expectations. The debut show on September 22nd drew a strong 6.6 overnight broadcast rating and, most important, was 78% up from SmackDown in the Adults 18-49 range. So, UPN is making much more money with this new line-up change.
It is interesting to note that none of WWE's programming last week made it in the Top 30 in any demographic category. That is very rare, although it tracked numbers that included RAW's lowest non-holiday rating all year and Friday Night SmackDown's lackluster debut with a 1.7 broadcast rating due to many preemptions.
Credit: Dave Meltzer @ WrestlingObserver.com
On a related note, WWE did find a way to spin that debut into a positive with the following press release that was issued this past Thursday:
SmackDown gives UPN best Friday night in years
Sept. 22, 2005
For more than five years, SmackDown helped deliver primetime success on Thursday nights for UPN. Two weeks ago, however, SmackDown moved to Fridays. The result – more success for UPN. In fact, SmackDown has scored UPN’s best Friday delivery in two years with adults 18-34.
In its first two-hour episode in the new timeslot, SmackDown catapulted UPN to first place with men 18-34 and teens, and second with persons 12-34 years old.
The main event of the action-packed show featured Undertaker going one on one with his long-time rival, the Legend Killer Randy Orton. The show was also highlighted by appearances from World Heavyweight Champion Batista, Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Booker T, United States Champion Chris Benoit and many others.
In addition, SmackDown helped UPN post a triple-digit time period growth in adults and men.
Compared to last year, on the same night, UPN’s audience in adults 18-24 grew 180 percent, in men 18-34 it grew 467 percent, in adults 18-49 it grew 117 percent, in men 18-49 it grew 183 percent and in total viewers it grew 141 percent.