Lack of competition helps Raw hold steady in ratings

[Big Red Machine]

Source: www.F4WOnline.com

By Dave Meltzer | @davemeltzerWON | Aug 2, 2016 2:47 pm

For the second week of the brand extension period, Raw held up well last night, doing 3.30 million viewers, down from 3.33 million the week before.

This week was the best week when it comes to lack of competition, between the conventions and the Olympics. But last week had the advantage of being the night after a PPV show, where viewing usually increases. By current standards, this is a good number, likely helped by the buzz coming off the show the week before.

The pattern was different from usual, in that the first hour was the strongest instead of the second hour. There was the third hour fade. It wasn't as bad as in some weeks, but it was still 9 percent drop, with the final hour built around the return of Brock Lesnar.

Raw was fourth for the night on cable, trailing Rizzoli & Isles and Major Crimes on TNT, which always beat it, and The O'Reilly Factor, which usually doesn't beat it, but has in recent weeks.

For the three hours, the numbers were:

8 p.m. 3.46 million viewers
9 p.m. 3.40 million viewers
10 p.m. 3.08 million viewers