[73 / 9 / 1]
>When the 2024-25 broadcast season kicks off in September, Fox will have to forge ahead without its highest-rated primetime series, a two-hour block that defied both gravity and the ongoing erosion of TV usage. But as WWE SmackDown gets set to shuffle off to NBCUniversal’s USA Network, a worthy replacement is primed to set up shop in the window formerly occupied by the spandex-and-suplex crowd.
>These are big boots to fill. With an average draw of 824,250 adults 18-49 per episode, SmackDown was this season’s third-biggest draw in the dollar demo, trailing only CBS’ Survivor and 60 Minutes, and one of just a handful of shows that managed to grow its ratings versus the year-ago period.
>While nearly all the TV metrics favored a renewal of SmackDown—the Friday night wrestling showcase was one of the 10 youngest-skewing programs on TV in 2023-24, and its audience composition should have made it a must-buy for advertisers looking to engage with the under-50 set—Fox couldn’t generate enough ad revenue from the property to justify bringing it back for a sixth season.
>According to media buyer estimates, the average unit cost for a 30-second spot in SmackDown sold during last year’s upfront bazaar was a little over $50,000 a pop, a figure nowhere near in keeping with the show’s deliveries. (By way of comparison, ABC’s The Bachelor, which trailed SmackDown in the demo by some 1,300 viewers, commanded a rate that was three times higher.) And while the pricing disparity is arguably more a function of ingrained snobbery than measurable performance, it’s now clear that fans who supported the Friday night wrasslin’ juggernaut weren’t sufficiently upscale for Fox’s advertising partners.
>These are big boots to fill. With an average draw of 824,250 adults 18-49 per episode, SmackDown was this season’s third-biggest draw in the dollar demo, trailing only CBS’ Survivor and 60 Minutes, and one of just a handful of shows that managed to grow its ratings versus the year-ago period.
>While nearly all the TV metrics favored a renewal of SmackDown—the Friday night wrestling showcase was one of the 10 youngest-skewing programs on TV in 2023-24, and its audience composition should have made it a must-buy for advertisers looking to engage with the under-50 set—Fox couldn’t generate enough ad revenue from the property to justify bringing it back for a sixth season.
>According to media buyer estimates, the average unit cost for a 30-second spot in SmackDown sold during last year’s upfront bazaar was a little over $50,000 a pop, a figure nowhere near in keeping with the show’s deliveries. (By way of comparison, ABC’s The Bachelor, which trailed SmackDown in the demo by some 1,300 viewers, commanded a rate that was three times higher.) And while the pricing disparity is arguably more a function of ingrained snobbery than measurable performance, it’s now clear that fans who supported the Friday night wrasslin’ juggernaut weren’t sufficiently upscale for Fox’s advertising partners.
