The Figure Four Weekly Newsletter has provided a detailed breakdown of the eight quarter hours when TNA Impact and WWE Monday Night Raw were going head-to-head on Monday night (January 4). Probably the most significant news is that Spike TV was expecting Impact to draw 1.5 million viewers and most in TNA felt the show would average around a 1.0. The fact the show did a 1.5 rating with 2.2 million viewers almost guarantees TNA could be moving to Monday night’s soon. Even though they were soundly beat by Raw, the show benefited as a whole going up against WWE as it drew the highest ratings in company history.
Here is how the numbers break down by quarter.
Quarter 1:
Raw scored a 5.463
Impact scored a 2.866
– Total audience = 8.329
Impact drew 2,866,000 viewers at the top of the 9:00 p.m. hour to Raw’s 5,463,000. Despite the hype, the segment between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels was not the highest rated segment on Raw and Impact was able to hold its audience from the previous unopposed hour and actually grew. This means the segment with Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, Scott Hall and Sean Waltman was interesting enough that it prevented people from switching over to the beginning of Raw featuring Bret Hart. However, minute-by-minute breakdowns do show Impact viewers switching to Raw in growing numbers over the course of that 15 minutes.
Quarter 2:
Raw scored a 5.580
Impact scored a 2.026
– Total audience = 7.606
Impact ratings saw a big drop after the segment with Hogan, losing 840,000 viewers for the Knockouts Tag Team Championship match. While it was a drop, they were still at 2,026,000 viewers which would still be a record over any kind of viewership for the show on Thursday’s in company history. Raw featuring Maryse vs. Brie Bella had 5,580,000 viewers and actually drew higher than the segment with Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels.
Quarter 3:
Raw scored a 5.250
Impact scored a 2.158
– Total audience = 7.408
At 9:30 p.m. 5,580,000 viewers watched the four way match for the WWE United States Championship and the backstage segment between Bret Hart and Chris Jericho, while 2,158,000 viewers were watching The Beautiful People segment playing strip poker with Val Venis, the arrival of Mick Foley, Raven & Dr. Stevie vs. Hernandez & Matt Morgan and The Pope’s interview featuring Orlando Jordan. Raw dropped 330,000 in viewers at this point, while Impact increased by 132,000.
Quarter 4:
Raw scored a 5.472
Impact scored a 1.785
– Total audience = 7.257
5,472,000 viewers watched DX and Hornswoggle backstage and the beginning of DX vs. Chris Jericho and Big Show, while 1,785,000 viewers watched Desmond Wolfe vs. The Pope, Jeff Jarrett heading to the Impact Zone and a backstage segment between TNA World Champion AJ Styles and Eric Bischoff. Raw gained 222,000 viewers in this quarter.
Quarter 5:
Raw scored a 6.397
Impact scored a 1.783
– Total audience = 8.180
Raw did 6,397,000 viewers for DX vs. Chris Jericho and Big Show along with Vince McMahon’s meeting with Randy Orton, while Impact featuring Jeff Jarrett’s speech and confrontation with Hulk Hogan stayed steady with 1,783,000 viewers. Raw did another strong quarter here gaining 925,000 viewers.
Quarter 6:
Raw scored a 5.718
Impact scored a 1.891
– Total audience = 7.609
Raw did 5,718,000 viewers for Sheamus vs. Evan Bourne, dropping 679,000 in viewership. Impact featuring Abyss vs. Samoa Joe, Eric Bischoff and Kristal Lashley, The Nasty Boys trying to get inside the Impact Zone, an interview with Kurt Angle and Jeff Hardy and Shannon Moore leaving did 1,891,000 viewers. TNA gained 108,000 viewers in this quarter.
Quater 7:
Raw scored a 5.179
Impact scored a 1.810
– Total audience = 6.989
Raw did 5,179,000 viewers in this quarter, while Impact drew 1,810,000 viewers. This was the lowest rated quarter for both shows going head-to-head during the evening. Raw featured several video packages and the start of Randy Orton vs. Kofi Kingston, while TNA featured the first half of AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Raw ended up losing 539,000 viewers here.
Quarter 8:
Raw scored a 5.328
Impact scored a 1.955
– Total audience = 7.283
Raw increased to 5,328,000 viewers here featuring the confrontation between Bret Hart and Vince McMahon, while Impact grew slightly with 1,955,000 viewers featuring the end of Styles vs. Angle.
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