TNA iMPACT Wrestling Ratings (5/26): Ratings Are Up, But Total Viewership Is Actually Down

Source: Various

The final cable rating and viewership estimates for this week’s episode of iMPACT Wrestling on Spike TV are now available. iMPACT Wrestling’s flagship show had a minimal increase in its final ratings number and an equally minimal decrease in its overall viewership as compared to last week. This week’s episode of the show scored a final cable rating of 1.20 which represented about 1,702,000 viewers over the course of the show’s two hours. This week’s final rating is 0.03 of a point higher and about 12,000 less viewers than last week’s episode, which scored a final cable rating of 1.17 with an average audience of 1,714,000 viewers

We also know a little bit about the ratings breakdown by hour from this week’s show. The first hour of this week’s iMPACT Wrestling on Spike TV scored a final cable rating of 1.12 while the second hour scored a final cable rating of 1.28. This week’s episode of iMPACT Wrestling on Spike TV had more viewers than programming on other cable channels like A&E.

Some of you may be wondering about this weird coincidence between last week’s final ratings and viewership versus this week’s final ratings and viewership. The reason why this week’s rating is up, but this week’s viewership is down is because less people were watching all of cable television this week (probably due to over 10 million people watching the NBA playoffs on TNT on Thursday night). Cable ratings are a weird animal – as we see with this situation.

For comparison’s sake, TNAStars.com used to promote a completely fictitious Thursday Night War as a comedy piece on this website. WWE may have won the short-lived 2010 Monday Night War, but TNA Wrestling won the 2010 – 2011 Thursday Night War!

If you’re interested in iMPACT!’s ratings performance for 2010 and the first half of 2011, then check out TNAStars.com’s Ratings War area. In the Ratings War area you can see a comparison of iMPACT! vs. Monday Night RAW and iMPACT! vs. Superstars from all of 2010 and 2011. Enjoy!