AEW Dynamite and WWE NXT both lost viewers this week, but their ratings dynamic stayed similar to what it has been since 2020 began – with one interesting difference.
According to ShowBuzz Daily, AEW Dynamite did well with live cable viewers this week and ranked fifth out of all cable shows in its timeslot with a rating of 0.38 with viewers between the ages of 18-49. It was beaten in the ratings by the NBA, Rachel Maddow, The Real Housewives of New Jersey, and Alaskan Bush People. This week’s Dynamite was most popular, as usual, with men aged 18-49, drawing a 0.51 in that demographic. Overall, the episode had 940,000 viewers, which is down by 7,000 from last week, but continues a trend of strong viewership and ratings for the show in 2020.
Meanwhile, NXT ranked 31 out of all cable shows in its timeslot, a clear improvement from last week, when it failed to make the top fifty. It drew a rating of 0.21 between viewers 18-49 years old, and an increase from last week’s 0.19 and the previous (clip show) week’s 0.15. NXT had 700,000 viewers, down by 21,000 from January 8.
As usual, NXT was most popular with viewers over fifty years old. It pulled an 0.35 with that demographic, but AEW was hot on its heels this week with an 0.34. Considering this week’s Dynamite was a throwback to a WCW special that previously occurred, at the earliest, twenty years ago, and featured the in-ring return of Diamond Dallas Page, it’s easy to say this was a special case. However, if those viewers end up sticking around, it could do some long-term damage to NXT’s ratings (which, of course, are just one factor in the success of a TV, especially in the age of YouTube, the WWE Network, etc.)
