WWE and FOX Sports Discuss Possibility of More Programming, NXT

SmackDown might not be the only WWE programming finding its way to FOX Sports' networks in 2019.

WWE and FOX officially announced their five year television deal for SmackDown on Tuesday. The contract will see FOX move WWE's Tuesday night broadcast to Friday evenings in the fall of 2019, shaking up WWE's touring schedule in the process as the show will still occur live.

However, as part of a WWE conference call on Wednesday, some interesting other topics came up related to the new deal with FOX. Specifically concerning the network being open to airing additional WWE content. WWE's George Barrios and Michelle Wilson said that FOX airing cross-promotional content is part of their new deal.

"Those absolutely have been in discussions with Fox," Wilson said. "There have been discussions around additional promotional programming that would highlight other activities in WWE. So those are certainly very positive discussions that are taking place — both on FS1 and Fox Broadcast."

Pro Wrestling Sheet reports that their have been discussions about airing WWE NXT on FS1, though they have been unable to confirm whether or not that is a firm commitment.

Barrios sold the fact that WWE continues to be a great investment for television networks. He touted WWE's financial numbers as proof that the company is in the best place they have ever been and also pointed to the online engagement of their fans.

"The success we have had in social, digital and direct-to-consumer re-positions the WWE as a business brand and as a business partner. We went from being viewed as a live-event business to more of a social, digital, direct-to-consumer media business with proven expertise around it," Barrios said.

Any regular viewer of WWE television shouldn't be surprised by the comments above; the company very often points to the fact that they have more social media followers than other top professional sports leagues around the world. Just this week on RAW they pointed out that they had more followers than MLB, NBA, and the NFL.

With their new television deals for the United States now cemented in stone, WWE is looking to nail down a new U.K. television contract by the end of this year. They also are working on getting a contract in place in India at some point next year, which the company views as a massive market of largely untapped financial potential.