WWE's SmackDown is on the move again. The show will return to USA Network in October 2024 in a five-year agreement with NBCUniversal, according to Deadline.
SmackDown has aired Fridays on Fox since 2019. For the previous four years, USA televised the show on Thursdays, then Tuesdays.
Additionally, WWE will produce four primetime specials per year for NBC's broadcast network. The specials will air on NBC beginning in the 2024-25 TV season.
Courtesy of WWE
The Wall Street Journal reports that the five-year agreement is valued at approximately $1.4 billion, a 40% increase from Fox's deal for SmackDown.
USA is also the current home of WWE's flagship program, Raw. But in its announcement of the new SmackDown deal, WWE noted that Raw and NXT “will continue to air on USA Network through September of 2024,” indicating the agreement will end then.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, several networks are showing interest in Raw amid what was described as an "extremely active" market.
