WWE Shuffles Premiere Dates as ‘SmackDown’ Prepares to Move to USA Network, ‘Raw’ Heads to Netflix
WWE Shuffles Premiere Dates as ‘SmackDown’ Prepares to Move to USA Network, ‘Raw’ Heads to Netflix
The shake-ups should allow fans to continue watching both ‘SmackDown’ and ‘Raw’ until they move to new homes.
The WWE is playing a game of programming musical chairs. The wrestling promotion will see some big changes to its broadcasting arrangements in the next seven months; “WWE SmackDown” is due to shift away from Fox and move back to its old home of USA Network this fall, and in January, episodes of the WWE’s flagship program “WWE Raw” will move off USA Network and to its new home on Netflix, where it will be found for the next 10 years. Originally, USA was set to lose “Raw” in September, and import “SmackDown” in October, but the plans have changed thanks to a new announcement from WWE’s parent company TKO Group Holdings.
Key Details:
- “SmackDown” will now move from Fox to USA Network in September.
- A mini-extension will allow USA to keep “Raw” until it moves to Netflix in January.
- NBC will offer four primetime specials each year, which will likely also stream on Peacock.
The schedule shuffling by WWE will allow for fans to continue watching episodes of “Raw” on USA Network until they’re ready to shift to Netflix in the first month of 2025. The world’s largest streamer agreed to terms to acquire rights to “Raw” for the next decade for a total of $5 billion in January, but they were originally due to depart from USA Network in September, leaving a programming gap of roughly four months. Now, a mini-extension of the “Raw” broadcast rights deal will ensure that they stay on the air, though NBCUniversal had to pay an extra $25 million for the privilege.
USA Network will also welcome weekly episodes of WWE’s signature show “SmackDown” earlier than first anticipated. The channel was originally due to welcome “SmackDown” from Fox in October, but that date has been moved up to Sept. 13. From that date until the end of December, WWE fans will be able to see both “Raw” and “SmackDown” in one place.
TKO Group also announced that it would begin producing four specials each year that will air during primetime on NBC. There was no confirmation on whether the specials would stream simultaneously on Peacock, which offers premium live events from WWE like “WrestleMania” each year, but it seems likely.
What Else is Changing for WWE Broadcasts Around the World?
American audiences have enough changes on their plate to digest from WWE these days. The switch of “Raw” from its longtime home on USA — where it has aired for 27 of its 32 years on TV — to Netflix, along with “SmackDown” moving from Fox — which has been its broadcast home since 2019 — to USA can be confusing enough, but when you start factoring in the short-term changes announced this week, it can be difficult to get a handle on.
Despite that fact, even bigger changes are coming for the WWE’s international fans, though these changes should make it easier to determine where to find WWE content going forward. At the end of 2024, WWE Network — which carries the vast majority of the wrestling circuit’s weekly shows and premium live events outside of the U.S. — will reportedly shut down and shift all of its content to Netflix. That will make Netflix something of a one-stop shop for WWE content outside the U.S. Domestically, Peacock will offer next-day streams of “SmackDown” once that show moves from Fox to USA Network, as well as premium live events in 2025 and beyond.
The changes are exciting for WWE executives, who can look forward to the global reach of Netflix and its huge subscriber base bringing episodes of “Raw” to entirely new audiences. But the wrestling promotion isn’t leaving linear TV behind, as USA Network and NBC will still be important broadcast partners for WWE in 2024 and the future.
Peacock
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