• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, October 6, 2008

Did the debut of wrestling on MyNetworkTV help the oft-struggling network get off the mat? Maybe.

"WWE Friday Night SmackDown" premiered Friday with 3.2 million total viewers and a 1.0 in the 18-to-49 demo. In the key demo, the performance was notably above what MNTV drew on Fridays last season. But it was 29% below "SmackDown's" premiere last fall when it ran on the CW.

The CW decided not to continue carrying the show--which was a strong performer but didn't necessarily dovetail with its target audience. Back in February, MNTV cut a deal with the WWE to begin carrying it this fall.

The 1.0 in 18-to-49 viewers topped MNTV's average for Fridays last season--a .4--although the network mostly reran movies on the night.

"SmackDown," which airs from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., drew a 1.4 in the demo for its premiere on CW last year, and 4.6 million viewers. In the younger 18-to-34 segment, the CW debut was 26% higher.

For the season on CW, "SmackDown" posted an average of 4.7 million viewers and a 1.5 in the key demo.

"SmackDown" was highly promoted by MNTV, taking over all bus fronts in New York as well as other real estate.