WWE SmackDown Set To Return To USA Network From October 2024

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WWE Friday Night SmackDown is set to return to USA Network, starting from October 2024 after WWE, part of TKO Group, and NBCUniversal agreed to a five-year domestic media rights partnership.

Additionally, as part of the deal, beginning in the 2024/25 season, WWE will produce four primetime specials per year that will air on NBC, marking the first time WWE will air on the network in primetime.

WWE SmackDown will come exclusively to NBCU as one of television's longest-running programs, regularly rating as the No. 1 show in the 18-49 advertising demographic on Friday nights, featuring many WWE Superstars including John Cena, Roman Reigns, Bianca Belair, Charlotte Flair, and more.

"NBCUniversal has been a tremendous partner of WWE for decades," said WWE President Nick Khan. "We are excited to extend this longstanding relationship by bringing SmackDown to USA Network on Friday nights and look forward to debuting multiple WWE special events annually on NBC."

"It's a privilege and thrill to continue NBCU's decades-long partnership with WWE which has helped cement USA Network's consistent position as the top-rated cable entertainment network in live viewership" said Frances Berwick, Chairman, NBCUniversal Entertainment.

"With Friday nights on USA, primetime specials on NBC, and the WWE hub on Peacock, we'll continue to use the power of our portfolio to super-serve this passionate fanbase."

As part of WWE and NBCUniversal's longstanding relationship, USA Network is currently home to WWE NXT and WWE Monday Night Raw, which is the #2 cable entertainment program in 2023 in the 18-49 demo.

Demonstrating the deeply engaged WWE audience on USA, WWE NXT (+27%) and WWE Monday Night Raw (+15%) are up double-digits year-over-year in the target demographic. WWE Monday Night Raw and WWE NXT will continue to air on USA Network through September 2024.

In addition, since 2021, Peacock has been the exclusive home of WWE Network in the U.S. where subscribers can stream thousands of hours of on-demand programming from WWE.

The on-demand programming on offer on the WWE Nextwork include original series, groundbreaking documentaries, fan-favorite shows from the WWE archives, and premium live events like WrestleMania, Survivor Series, Royal Rumble, Summer Slam, and more.

WWE continues to drive high engagement on the platform, with this April's WrestleMania 39 livestream delivering a record-breaking weekend for Peacock as its highest weekend usage to-date.

What does it mean to India's WWE broadcast rights?

There is no change to the telecast of WWE programme in India as the official broadcast holder Sony Sports Network will continue to show all the televised events on Sony Sports TEN channels and Sony LIV online with WWE network subscription.

Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) and WWE have had a long standing relationship with each other in terms of broadcasting since 2002 and they most recently renewed their deal for extra five-years beginning in 2020.

This partnership between WWE and NBCUniversal is only for United States. USA Network, which already telecasts NXT and Raw, will replace Fox Sports as the official broadcaster of SmackDown in USA in 2024.