Source: ShowBuzz Daily. Image: WWE.
Tuesday night’s launch of “NXT 2.0” averaged 770,000 viewers on the USA Network, up 28.1 percent from last week. It’s the best audience for the show since April 20.
In the 18-49 demo, NXT finished 10th on cable with a 0.21 rating, up 50 percent from last week. So, the gain with younger viewers was much greater than with the overall audience.
Last night’s NXT featured the storyline wedding of Indi Hartwell & Dexter Lumis, a fatal four-way match to determine a new NXT Champion, and the start of the brand’s revamp with a new look for the show and a greater emphasis on developmental talent.
The biggest gain in audience was in the 18-34 category, where NXT doubled its demo rating to a 0.12. Breaking it down even further, it appears female viewers really spiked for this show, likely because of the wedding. Women 18-49 were up 62.5 percent, while men in that age group were up 45 percent. Females 12-34 were up 50 percent, with males only up 18.2 percent.
As compared to the same week in 2020, NXT was up 11.8 percent in overall viewers and up 16.7 percent in 18-49. It’s the first time in five weeks — and only the third time since June — that NXT has had a year-over-year gain. This is also comparing to when NXT was still running on Wednesdays with AEW Dynamite as competition.
The chart below shows the last 11 weeks of viewership and 18-49 demo numbers for NXT on USA. The show was up 18.2 percent in viewership and up 31.3 percent in the 18-49 demo over the recent averages.