WWE’s programming rights for Raw, NXT, and SmackDown will expire next year. Currently, Raw and NXT have deals with the USA Network, while SmackDown airs on FOX.
Today, WWE announced that they will be leaving FOX and have signed a five-year agreement to bring SmackDown back to the USA Network. This move will take effect in October 2024 and will keep the blue brand on the network until 2029.
SmackDown aired on the USA Network from 2016 to 2019 before moving to FOX.
Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. However, The Wall Street Journal reports that “People familiar with the pact valued it at roughly $1.4 billion, which is about a 40% increase over the deal WWE had with Fox.”
As previously reported, because SmackDown is returning to USA, the network isn’t expected to renew the rights to Raw and NXT. One source noted the deal to bring SmackDown to USA is likely to cost as much as the rights for Raw and NXT.
WWE also has a streaming deal with NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service for the exclusive streaming home of the company’s content in the US, a five-year deal that was valued at more than $1 billion. That deal was signed in 2021.
One source stated FOX didn’t aggressively seek to keep SmackDown.
