CW President Hails WWE NXT as Game Changer Amid Ratings Surge

The October 1, 2024 edition of NXT marked a massive debut as it was the first time NXT aired on the CW Network. Since then, the show has been airing weekly on the network to tons of praise and now it appears even the CW President had a lot of good things to say about NXT.

While speaking to Variety, CW President Brian Schwartz revealed how important WWE NXT has become for the network. He explained that NXT has been a major success, helping boost The CW’s overall performance, calling NXT a game changer.

The most recent quarter was NXT’s best in five years, with ratings up 19% compared to the previous year. NXT has also been consistently beating Fox on Tuesday nights among key age groups, including adults 18-49 and 25-54.

This strong performance has played a big role in The CW’s 40% season-over-season growth. Among all broadcast shows, only Fox’s animated programs have a higher concentration of viewers in those key age groups.

“It’s been an absolute game changer for the CW, and I think it’s been a game changer for WWE, this last quarter that just ended was the highest rated NXT quarter in five years. It’s up 19% year over year. In adults 18 to 49 and 25 to 54, we’re regularly being Fox on Tuesday nights. It’s unheard of, so it’s been absolutely crushing for us. It’s one of the big reasons why our network as a whole is up 40% season over season…Besides animation on Fox, [NXT] has the highest concentration of 18-49 and 25-54 on all broadcast.”

NXT has been consistently getting great ratings since moving to the CW Network last year and the show has been beating AEW Dynamite in ratings almost every single week as well, so it’s safe to say NXT is going strong and the CW Network couldn’t be happier with their deal with the developmental brand.