WWE Still in Negotiations to Expand Friday Night SmackDown to Three Hours

With Monday Night RAW set to move to Netflix in January 2025, there’s been significant speculation about potential changes to WWE’s programming. One major topic of discussion is the possibility that SmackDown will become a three-hour show, a change many fans are convinced won’t happen. However, reports suggest that WWE is currently in negotiations to make adjustments to the show, though no official decisions have been confirmed yet.

Reports noted that WWE was considering adding an extra hour to SmackDown to capitalize on its current success. This change is expected to begin with the episode airing on January 3, 2025, coinciding with the move of Monday Night RAW to Netflix.

It was then reported that Friday Night SmackDown would become three hours in length for six months since January 2025 and then eventually go back to the two-hour runtime in the end.

While speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer talked about the possibility of Friday Night SmackDown becoming a three-hour show on the USA Network. While it’s not yet confirmed, he indicated that the idea is “certainly in negotiations” and gave it better than a 50% chance of happening.

When asked if the negotiations were about securing more money, he confirmed that was the case. The original deal was for a two-hour show, but WWE is now exploring the option of extending SmackDown to three hours.

”It’s not a 100% but it is certainly in negotiations and I would say better than 50% it’s gonna happen. [So by negotiations you mean, attempting to get more money?] Yeah. Yeah. They have to get it. The original deal was definitely a two-hour show but now they’re discussing a three-hour show.”

We had already reported that WWE has yet to decide on runtimes for Monday Night RAW and Friday Night SmackDown in 2025. Regardless, we’ll have to see whether WWE SmackDown will end up becoming a three-hour show permanently.

Do you feel Friday Night SmackDown becoming a three-hour show will be the best thing for the blue brand? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

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