A new multi-year partnership will see the WWE SmackDown return to USA Network on Sept 13. The show was originally slated to move back to USA in October, but the date has been bumped up.
WWE, part of the newly created TKO Group, and NBCUniversal have agreed to a five-year domestic media rights deal that will bring Friday Night SmackDown to USA Network, exiting its current home on Fox.
WWE will also produce four specials a year for NBC primetime.
WWE‘s Monday Night Raw franchise will stay on USA Network through the end of 2024 under an extended rights agreement between the wrestling circuit and NBCUniversal.
TKO Group Holdings, which owns WWE, announced the mini-extension Wednesday along with its first-quarter results. NBCU paid $25 million for the additional months of rights, according to TKO.
The milestone Netflix deal, announced earlier this year, is slated to start in January 2025. but the prior Raw agreement went only through September of this year. There had been questions lingering among Wall Streeters, viewers, and fans about who would air those intervening months of action for the 52-week-a-year entertainment draw.
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