WWE Faces Possible Risks With New SmackDown TV Deal

WWE is in the search for the biggest payday they can get out of their next set of television talks. Now, it appears that two front-runners are a part of the situation, and it could result in some big changes for fans. That being said, FOX might be moving on from WWE programming.

As WWE’s television contract with Fox nears its conclusion, there are indications that the Friday night programming could be changing networks.

A recent report highlighted the cancellation of the “Out of Character” WWE podcast by Fox, which is viewed as yet another indication that Smackdown may be departing from Fox once the current contract concludes.

It was noted in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that analysts had long believed the show’s high ratings didn’t make it cost-effective. He went on to explain exactly why this is the case.

“Something to consider with talk of Smackdown leaving FOX. If it goes to FX, it would be incredibly stupid for FX to air it on Friday. They’d be spending $300+ million per year for a show that would be doing maybe AEW Dynamite numbers on a Friday, and maybe not even that. If they stay hot they’ll be above it by a little, and if not, AEW will be above it with the advantage of Wednesday over Friday.”

“That makes no sense. For that money they’ll want it on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. If it’s Tuesday, NXT has to move to Wednesday or Thursday. If it’s Wednesday, it goes against AEW and that would be very interesting. Right now, that would hurt AEW a lot and hurt Smackdown some. If FX wants to win a ratings war, you go Wednesday, but if it wants to maximize viewers it goes Tuesday or Thursday. TBS could also switch days for Dynamite if Smackdown goes Wednesday. For WWE, the most convenient day would be Tuesday and moving NXT to Wednesday (if their goal is to hurt AEW and also hurt themselves) or Thursday (if the goal is maximum viewership).”

“But that would also have to fit in with what USA wants. But USA doesn’t have all these hit shows, so NXT would have to say on Tuesday. But would they want to minimize their own audience now that the show is growing to hurt TBS. At this stage, with everyone just wanting any audience they can get, probably not. But for production and execs weekly workload, TV on Monday and Tuesday each week is so much better than Monday and Thursday or Monday and Friday. If they are on Amazon Prime, they would also probably want it any night but Thursday, Friday or Saturday with what they’d be paying. That actually leaves Wednesday as somewhat likely.”

We will have to see what happens in this situation, because some big money deals are on the table. Triple H getting spotted with Jeff Bezos at New York Fashion Week was also a very interesting point to note.

WWE SmackDown has moved days before, and the company is apparently open to do that again. They aren’t married to Fridays, and it appears that they will place the blue brand on whichever day of the week works best.

What’s your take on WWE changing SmackDown’s day of the week? Is it better on Friday? Sound off in the comments to let us know what you think!