WWE's 'Smackdown' is moving to a new network
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WWE will lay the smackdown on a new network next year.
WWE announced Sept. 21 that its “Friday Night Smackdown” show will air on USA Network beginning October 2024. WWE will also produce four prime-time specials per year for NBC beginning in the 2024-2025 TV season as part of a five-year agreement with NBCUniversal.
“NBCUniversal has been a tremendous partner of WWE for decades,” WWE President Nick Khan said in a statement. “We are excited to extend this longstanding relationship by bringing ‘SmackDown’ to USA Network on Friday nights and look forward to debuting multiple WWE special events annually on NBC.”
“Smackdown” previously aired on USA Network from 2016 to 2019, the year it moved to its current home, Fox. In recent years the show has prominently featured the reigning Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns.
Last week’s episode of “Smackdown” made headlines when Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson made a rare WWE return, exchanging blows in the ring with Austin Theory and sharing a brief conversation backstage with John Cena.
WWE noted in its announcement that two of its other shows, “Monday Night Raw” and “NXT,” will continue to air on USA Network through September 2024. It also streams premium live events, including WrestleMania and Royal Rumble, and other content on NBCUniversal’s Peacock service. (NBCUniversal is the parent company of TODAY.com.)
The Sept. 21 announcement comes less than two weeks after WWE officially merged with mixed martial arts organization UFC to form a new company, TKO, owned by Endeavor.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
