WWE SmackDown has been a fixture on FOX on Friday nights for years, but it hasn’t always aired there — and it’s looking increasingly possible that might once again be the case starting next year.
The deal between WWE and FOX for SmackDown expires a little more than a year from now, and negotiations are still underway to see where the show will call home beyond 2024. Just as Comcast/NBCUniversal did for Raw, FOX had an exclusive window to try to work out a new deal that has come and gone, meaning anyone interested in bidding on SmackDown can do so now (though the impending WWE-UFC merger may have put a temporary pause on the process).
That means that while the show could remain in place, it’s far from guaranteed. In his latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter (subscription required), Dave Meltzer pointed to a recent programming development that could be a signal that FOX is ready to bail on SmackDown, as well as some insight into why the network would make that decision (hint: dollars and cents are involved).
FOX has canceled its “Out of Character” WWE podcast.” Some see that as another sign that Smackdown will be moving from FOX at the end of the current contract. Analysts have believed that for some time, that even with the ratings the show delivers that it isn’t cost-effective, especially if WWE wants the $205 million per year deal to increase to $310 million. Still, the show wins the night almost every week of late and numbers are gaining so they could change the outcome of that. It also does lower ad rates than the other network programming on Friday because of the stigma of wrestling and wrestling fans to network advertisers.
That last note about lower ad rates is interesting because Meltzer also included a comment from analyst Brandon Ross saying he thinks SmackDown is leaving as well, and that one of its potential destinations could be ABC — which would obviously face the same issue. One possible bidder who wouldn’t is Amazon, who has made big inroads into sports content that used to be the domain of TV with Thursday Night Football and thus now seems a much more logical partner for WWE than it would have even a few years ago.
If SmackDown ends up ay place but FOX, it will be an adjustment, though it’s one WWE fans have made before. Expect this to be a story that could have another intriguing twist or two over the months ahead.