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WWE made it official today that WWE Smackdown Live will move to Fox in October 2019 when the current deal expires. The press release states the deal with Fox is for five years and Smackdown will continue to be two hours live every week.
The following is the press release including a quote from Vince McMahon.
FOX SPORTS BECOMES NEW HOME OF SMACKDOWN LIVE
NEW YORK and STAMFORD, Conn., June 26, 2018 – For the first time, every Friday night beginning October 4, 2019, FOX broadcast network will air WWE’s flagship program SmackDown Live as part of a new five-year agreement with FOX Sports. The weekly, two-hour live event will air 52 weeks a year and captivate fans with a unique combination of edge-of-your-seat action, unpredictable drama and world-class athleticism.
“At FOX we are thrilled to welcome WWE to the FOX Sports family and bring SmackDown Live to broadcast television,” said Eric Shanks, President, COO and Executive Producer FOX Sports. “We are huge fans and know that together FOX Sports will be the leader in live events for the foreseeable future.”
“WWE and FOX are a perfect match,” said Vince McMahon, WWE Chairman & CEO. “Moving SmackDown Live to broadcast TV and having the ability to leverage FOX’s extensive portfolio of world-class sporting events will expand the reach of our flagship programming.”
SmackDown Live is a consistent winner on television, currently averaging1 1.3M P18-49, 1.3M P25-54 and 3M total viewers P2+.
On air for almost 20 years and nearly 1,000 episodes, SmackDown Live is the second-longest running weekly episodic cable television show in U.S. primetime history, only behind Monday Night Raw®. SmackDown Live is currently among the most-watched, regularly scheduled programs on primetime cable and delivers more viewers in primetime than any cable network in the U.S. (2.9 million average viewers).
SmackDown Live has also helped launch the careers of pop-culture icons including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, John Cena, Undertaker, Triple H, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and The Bella Twins.
NOW CHECK OUT THIS RELATED STORY: Miz comments on WWE’s new mega-deal with Fox to acquire rights to Smackdown, takes credit (tongue-in-cheek), wants to become Face of Brand by 2019
This is really weird. We have RAW on the cheerleader network of the anti-Trump movement, Smackdown is now with Disney [Fox sold it’s entertainment division] which is fighting hard to take over from NBC as the most anti-Trump network. And of course Linda Mcmahon is IN Trumps’s cabinet. Strange Bedfellows Indeed.
The Fox network is not part of the Disney sale.