Netflix announces WWE Raw premiere averaged 2.6 million U.S. households | TV ratings, attendance analysis & more

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WWE Raw on Netflix
Mon, Jan. 6, 2025: 8:00 to 11:00 pm

Update on Thursday morning, Jan. 9

Netflix and WWE released viewership data for the premiere of Raw.

In the U.S., they revealed, Raw had 2,600,000 households viewing, live+same-day, according to third-party data provided by VideoAmp. The press release notes, and it is consistent with Nielsen data available to Wrestlenomics, that the household measurement is 116% higher than the average for Raw on the USA Network in 2024, as measured by Nielsen.

The press release also announces the program had 4,900,000 global “Live+1 views”, which Netflix defines as “total view hours for the program divided by the runtime. It is our nearest proxy for average minute audience (AMA)” with a cut-off at midnight Pacific time that day. That means the measurement is close to how Nielsen typically measures U.S. viewership.

The release does not disclose data for the number of viewers watching, only households.

In December 2024, Raw had an average viewer per household of about 1.36. If we apply that to this household data from VideoAmp, that would put the viewership for the Netflix premiere somewhere around 3,500,000 viewers. In 2024, Raw on USA averaged 1,660,000 viewers.

Netflix is working with VideoAmp to provide third party viewing data on the streaming the platform, including WWE content. With the exception of the recent Christmas Day NFL games, Netflix is not working with Nielsen to provide viewing data.

Notably, VideoAmp recently measured the Golden Globes award show viewership as 9% higher viewership than Nielsen’s measurement of the same telecast.

Regarding the earlier reported Samba data, a representative for the analytics company provided us with details on its methodology, noting its data is gathered from “Samba TV’s ACR is integrated at the chipset level across 24 of the top Smart TVs sold in more than 100 countries globally and captures content that crosses the TV screen, regardless of source.” Samba says its data is “balanced and weighted to the U.S. Census across age, gender, ethnicity, and household income. By contrast, Samba TV’s panel is nearly 80x larger than the legacy industry model and is aligned to the US census by 0.03%.”

We asked if Samba’s household measurement is consistently lower than household measurements of the same content by others like Nielsen. A Samba representative hasn’t yet addressed that question.

Update on Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 8:

SambaTV reported that 664,000 U.S. households watched Raw on Netflix “when it aired”. A report from Media Play News also referencing SambaTV data says 752,000 households watched Raw on the USA Network in the first week of January in 2024, which Media Play News notes is a decline of 12%.

This household data is significantly lower than Nielsen’s measurements for Raw, so I don’t know what to make of it. In December 2024, Raw averaged about 1,131,000 viewers (average minute audience, live+same-day). While I don’t have household data for January 2024, it seems very unlikely that Nielsen’s measurement would be anywhere near 752,000 households for Raw during that time.

In other words, the SambaTV data conflicts with the Nielsen data. If you assume the Nielsen data is more credible, the SambaTV data is too low. Ultimately, either source’s data is based on a sample of viewing. Nonetheless, if SambaTV’s measurement method is consistent over time and uses a substantial sample, it’s possible the 12% decline is a meaningful reflection of the difference in viewership for Raw in the first week of January this year (on Netflix) versus last year (on USA Network).

But it would be surprising that the viewership for the Netflix debut would actually be lower than that of a year ago on USA, given the hype and Netflix’s comparable reach to top cable.

I’ve contacted Netflix, WWE, and SambaTV for clarification and will provide updates if I receive more information.

Yesterday and for part of today Netflix listed Raw was the #1 TV show on its platform in the U.S.

I confirmed with Netflix earlier today that WWE programs will be eligible to be ranked in Netflix’s official weekly top 10 rankings. For its global rankings, which Raw may very well make the top 10 for, Netflix breaks out some viewing data for the full week.

Update on Wednesday morning, Jan. 8:

WWE Raw is listed as Netflix’s #1 show in the U.S. for part of today as well as yesterday, according to FlixPatrol.

Netflix confirmed to me that WWE programs will be eligible for listing in Netflix’s official weekly top 10 rankings where they break out some global viewing data as well as rank the top 10 programs by region.

Update on Tuesday, Jan. 7:

I asked Netflix on Tuesday if they would be announcing any viewership data and as of about 4:30 pm ET, Netflix said they had no information to announce. I would be surprised at this point if there is any kind of announcement revealing viewership data related to the premiere of Raw on Netflix. I’m still seeking data for this, as well as AEW on Max, and will report any information I can.

Paul Levesque didn’t mention any viewership numbers during the post-show press conference but indicated he was being informed of viewership numbers throughout the night and said that Netflix executives were pleased.

LIVE EVENTS

Data from WrestleTix

Monday, January 6, 2025
Inglewood, CA at Intuit Dome
Estimated tickets distributed: 17,003

WWE announced this set a new company gate record for arena events. The highest figure we know of is for WWE Monday in the Bank in London in 2023, which drew $3.3 million. That record has since been broken multiple times, by at least Backlash in France and Bash in Berlin last year.

Market-to-market comparisons (Inglewood, CA):

2022-06-01 (Wed) – AEW Dynamite: 13,955 (+22% vs. 17,003)
2023-01-11 (Wed) – AEW Dynamite: 9,636 (+76%)
2023-04-01 (Sat) – WWE Wrestlemania Night 1: 67,303 (-75%)
2023-04-02 (Sun) – WWE Wrestlemania Night 2: 67,553 (-75%)
2023-11-17 (Fri) – AEW Collision: 4,365 (+290%)
2023-11-18 (Sat) – AEW Full Gear: 12,904 (+32%)
2023-12-30 (Sat) – WWE Live Holiday Tour: 13,847 (+23%)
2024-05-29 (Wed) – AEW Dynamite: 5,553 (+206%)

Year-over-year comparison for this event type:
Current 2025-Q1 WWE Raw average: (17,003) vs. 2024-Q1 (11,418): +49%

DIGITAL

As of 7:03 pm, Jan 7

Most-viewed YouTube videos on WWE’s official channel:

1.) 961,258 – The Undertaker celebrates with Rhea Ripley
2.) 901,544 – Roman Reigns vs. Solo Sikoa – Tribal Combat: Raw on Netflix highlights, Jan. 6, 2025
3.) 859,032 – AND NEW: Rhea Ripley destroys Liv Morgan and “Dirty” Dom in title win
4.) 689,945 – John Cena makes massive Royal Rumble announcement
5.) 621,977 – CM Punk vs. Seth “Freakin'” Rollins: Raw on Netflix highlights, Jan. 6, 2025
6.) 613,713 – The Rock acknowledges Cody Rhodes and sets stage for Tribal Combat
7.) 587,097 – The Rock crowns Roman Reigns with the Ula Fala after Tribal Combat